Fire Fox
by lolsama
Summary: Voldemort has been defeated but it seems that the struggle of good versus evil is not over. Ginny is left devastated when Harry leaves her. Can she find love and happiness without getting burnt or burning everyone around her? Femmeslash
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. A little dark.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

The fluttering of a black robe and familiar brown hair disappearing into the nearby hallway caught Ginny's eye as she reclined on the couch in the Gryffindor common room. The young red head sat cross legged, her silky red hair falling to her shoulders absentmindedly rubbing the soft material of her new robes between her thumb and her index finger. If anything was amiss, it was that Ginny's countenance had seen better days. She had a forlorn look about her that was uncharacteristic of the young Chaser. She nervously adjusted her red and gold tie glancing periodically at the magical clock hanging over the portrait exit for no reason other than to calculate how long she had been here, sitting idly as time passed her by. She had spent at least an hour in the girls bathroom this morning making sure she looked nice and covering up bruises from the night before but Ginny could not help fidgeting with her clothes and worrying about her next encounter with Harry Potter.

School had resumed after Hogwarts had been restored some what near to its former glory after Voldemorts defeat at the hands of her very own Harry Potter. It had been several months but the student body was invited back and many had returned to take their exams under an accelerated schedule. There was noticeably less people though, not only because of the war but because many students in their 6th of 7th year had been hired straight into the ministry. It was a sad difficult time but not for job hunting.

Harry and Ron had both been offered Auror trainee positions by the Minister himself but after much coaxing from Hermione and herself, they had agreed to at least finish their N.E.W.T.S. in the appropriate categories. Harry, mostly because of his pride and dislike of receiving special treatment and Ron after much threatening from Molly Weasley. She was not a force to be reckoned with, especially not during this horrible mourning period for Fred.

"She's gone mental again hasn't she?" shouted Ron from somewhere behind her, throwing a book across the room. Ginny's eyes lit up as she detected her brother's voice in the otherwise silent common room.

"Absolutely mental! She thinks I'd just let this go?" The sound of Ron's voice and his footsteps grew gradually dimmer until the sound of a small scuffle was heard along with a grunt of pain from Ron.

_So they're having relationship troubles too,_ mused Ginny dryly. _That must be why the brightest witch of our age stormed right past me without so much as a hello, _Ginny thought to herself. She had barely slept an hour last night and was too exhausted to feel much more concern for her brother Ron and Hermione's well being.

"You're going to lose her for good if you don't stop blowing up on her without thinking." Harry's voice rang out, frustration creeping into his voice. "Go after her…Go on, you bloody git…"

Ginny's heart started racing as soon as she heard Harry's voice and she groaned in apprehension, sinking into her seat and covering her face with the notebook she had been idly scribbling nonsense in. It didn't come as a surprise that the golden trio were in near proximity to each other however.

_You've been waiting here for three hours waiting to see him and now you're hiding like a child? What's wrong with you? Ginny_ berated herself.

The sound of two sets of feet approaching her caused her heartbeat to quicken.

"Ginny!" Harry exclaimed surprise evident in his voice, "What are you doing here? I thought you went back to the Burrow…Well, erm…Go on without me Ron. I'll catch up later yea?"

Ron nodded slightly, the angry expression on his face softening slightly when he saw his younger and only sister. He was about to say something but thought better of it, shooting a sympathetic glance at Ginny before disappearing into the corridor after Hermione.

"I'm so sorry Ginny. I-I've been meaning to talk to you…about last night…" said Harry awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck and suddenly seeming very interested in the way his shoe laces were tied. "Would it be alright if I sat down for a minute?"

"Y-yea, okay." Ginny responded, finally finding her voice. A part of her wanted to avoid the upcoming conflict but she had patiently been waiting here all this time to talk to him…

_Don't wring your hands together…_she berated herself.

Ginny bit her lip as she fought back what she knew was false hope and desperation.

She had cried herself to sleep last night and knew she was a mess…and finally after hours of waiting she had a chance, maybe her last chance to convince him to stay with her.

She remembered his cold expression from last night, the smell of alcohol on his lips…

Harry looked into the red head's brown eyes and felt his resolve start to waver, seeing the emotion starting to build up there.

Ginerva Weasley had become so radiant and beautiful that looking into her eyes now made his heart feel like it was burning _and how it burned_.

"You've told Ron already have you?" Ginny asked quietly, brushing her hair aside.

"Only that we've recently broken up," responded Harry quietly, his brows beginning to furrow slightly.

"It's just that-" Harry began, "I can't forgive myself Ginny. Even one time was difficult enough but twice now? It's not safe for me to be with anyone. I've become so damaged…You understand don't you? I could have killed you for Merlin sake!"

Ginny tightened her lips and looked down, her eyes beginning to tear up.

"I still have, Merlin knows how many people are after my life … and I just couldn't live with myself if you got killed because of me…"

Harry continued, "And I can't do what I have to do knowing and worrying about your safety. I _hurt_ you Ginny."

Harry's voice cracked, the pain evident in his eyes as he recalled the previous night. "I'm not sure how to make you understand that I can't let myself be with you anymore,"

Ginny stood up abruptly, her eyes flashing angrily at Harry.

"Harry…H-how dare you! You're a bloody coward! How dare you throw away what we have _**again**_ because you're afraid! You're better than that."

Ginny froze, surprised at the bitterness and anger in her voice and realized that she was feeling uncharacteristically weak

_I promised myself I wouldn't be this pathetic…_

"Please…" she began again slowly, her voice quivering with emotion. She nearly faltered but reminding herself that she was a Gryffindor, she grit her teeth and committed to seeing it through to the end.

"I love you Harry …I don't care if I die because some nutter comes after me for loving you," said Ginny passionately. "You can hit me all you like, I wouldn't regret it Harry! You shouldn't have to be alone after **all you've done** for everyone. You deserve to have someone there for you…to love you and help you get better… We can still make this work!"

Harry smiled bitterly, looking at Ginny's neck. He drew his wand and waved it, thinking an incantation in his head. He drew in a sharp breath and clenched his jaw as a dark bruise appeared around Ginny's neck, feeling his resolve start to strengthen again.

"You're right Ginny…I am a coward. I've lost too much…I can't… I won't do this to either of us." Harry paused, his voice failing him momentarily."I need time to recover-to heal-and I need to do it alone. Please forgive me," he continued.

"I do forgive you, Harry…why won't you just say that you'll at least try to make this work a little longer? Lay off the fire whiskey? You shouldn't be gobbling down heaps of that stuff anyways. We can be happy I know we can!" Ginny cried, her hands trembling.

Harry only shook his head, his hands tightly clenched.

"I don't know myself anymore Ginny. The nightmares, my anger, nothing is getting better. It's no time for me to be in a relationship. I love you Ginny. I really do from the bottom of my heart. That's why I can't let myself be with you."

Ginny closed her eyes, tears escaping and trailing down her burning cheeks.

"Bugger off then, you miserable sod!"

She almost recoiled when she saw the hurt in his eyes but she clenched her fists and stood her ground, the anger in her heart burning furiously.

"How many times are you going to leave me for the same bloody reason? And then come back to me giving me hope…and then BLOODY LEAVE AGAIN?" She grit her teeth, trying to pull together all the resolve and strength she had within her to let this end cleanly but it was too late, she was too far gone, too damaged and the anger was consuming what little there was left of her reason.

"I should hex you to hell for what you've done to me Harry," sobbed Ginny, tears now freely streaming down her face "You don't know what you've done to me…How could you play with me like this? I'm not a bloody toy…Show some bloody backbone! How can you leave me like this?"

Harry's eyes widened, his own tears starting to blur his vision as he held Ginny's hands in his own.

"Ginny…" he choked out, emotion strangling his voice.

"I've loved you since I met you Harry. I've always thought…thought you were too good for me," admitted Ginny, her eyes staring into Harry's pleading. "I was so happy when you got back together with me, you know, and you helped me so much with losing Fr-Fred…"

A few months had passed since Fred's funeral and Ginny felt more emotions hammering into her at the mention of her dearly departed brother. "So many years I've done nothing but love you…even when I was Michael and Dean, I couldn't help wishing I was with you.

I can forgive you if it's not perfect, you know I'm a tough girl and that I can take a hit or two. And we've been through so much together. Being with you, it's the best thing that's ever happened in my life, please just don't say-"

"You should hate me," whispered Harry softly cutting Ginny off cold. The young red headed woman stared at him blankly in the silence that followed. "I honestly hate myself right now. I honestly wish I could have just died before I let myself become someone who could do that to you."

Ginny's mind flashed to Harry grabbing her neck, pushing her against the wall, his fist drawing back.

She had been so scared but she had closed her eyes, holding on to all the love she had for the broken man in front of her.

"We're done Ginny. I'm done. I need my space and you need to find someone that won't hurt you like I do."

The boy-or man now who lived sighed. "Ginny…you have to want better for yourself. Don't you see what an amazing woman you are? It's me that doesn't deserve you. I'm a miserable sod alright," Harry chuckled miserably. "I'm leaving tonight Ginny. I love you but I am no better than the monsters that haunt my dreams."

"Harry no…please…don't leave me! We can start again…"

Ginny saw the hurt in Harry's face and felt her heart compress painfully with the need to comfort him.

She bravely leaned forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Harry's middle. She looked up into his eyes and leaned forward bringing her lips to his.

"Stop it, Ginny. I don't deserve this," Harry turned his face away and gently eased himself from Ginny's tight grasp.

"We're done," he said firmly.

"No…" Ginny felt panic rise up inside of her. "I love you."

She tried to close the gap between them again but Harry drew his wand like a whip, throwing up a powerful invisible shield in front of him. Ginny jumped back, shock registering in her features.

"Good bye Ginny," Harry said sadly.

Ginny nodded numbly, tears streaming down her face. She sank into the couch, the anger and frustration in her chest slowly turning into a black emptiness that devoured all of her senses.

She stopped counting the hours that had passed sitting immobile on that couch -lost in her grief.

* * *

A few days had gone by since Harry had left her there in the common room. Ginny had avoided Harry and subsequently the rest of the golden trio like the plague and tried to focus on her classes but periodic fits of depression would strike and she found herself unable to focus most of the time. The athletic red head often spent several extra hours a day practicing quidditch and throwing the quaffle around but even that couldn't undampen her spirits for long.

"Hey Gin," rang out a familiar voice.

Ginny turned to see Hermione.

"Hey...nice to see you," said Ginny shortly.

"A-Are you...What I mean to say is have you been okay Ginny? I've noticed that you haven't looked too well," said Hermione.

"Just fine, did Harry put you up to this?" asked Ginny glumly.

"I've just been worried," added Hermione, wincing slightly at Ginny's stare.

"You know, I was watching you flying out there and wanted to say that you looked great," Hermione said.

"Have you now?" Ginny asked, "That's good-Well, thanks."

Hermione sighed, noticing Ginny's unfriendly disposition. "You don't have to talk to me Ginny, but...I just want you to know that if you do want to talk, I'm here for you and I'll do everything in my utmost power to make sure you're okay. You're a very dear friend to me," Hermione said wistfully, thinking back to the days of the quidditch world cup where they shared a room and genuinely enjoyed each other's company. Other happy memories of spending time with Ginny came to mind, including spending time together in the 'DA' and baking a cake with her for Harry before Bill and Fleur's wedding.

The older brunette turned to leave and was surprised to feel Ginny's hand tentatively reaching out to touch her shoulder.

"Ah...Wait, Hermione. I think I'll take you up on that offer," said Ginny, stepping back as Hermione turned around to beam at the taller red haired girl.

"That's great Ginny, do you want to go anywhere in particular to talk?" asked Hermione.

"Uh, how about the lake?" suggested Ginny, gesturing to the nearby hallway. "Its just through here and I reckon it should be nice and quiet at this hour."

The two girls found themselves sitting side by side near the lake. Hermione watched the ripples on the water as Ginny masterfully skipped stones across the water and focused on giving the younger girl positive feedback when she threw them particularly well. "That's great Ginny, You're so skillful at that I've never known there was much room for progress for this particular activity."

Ginny laughed. "Well, if you grew up with six older brothers you'd know a thing or two about so called friendly competition." The red haired girl sighed to herself and sat down next to the witch prodigy, an apprehensive expression on her countenance.

"I dunno Hermione, its rather personal this business with Harry," Ginny admitted, feeling miserable inside. "I feel like...I dunno, like a fire went out in my chest and now all that's left inside me is- well, nothing."

Ginny stared across the lake and brought her knees to her chin, hugging her legs to her body.

"It's up to you to tell me what's going on or not but for both your sakes, I'd like to know and help. Can't help if I don't know anything," said Hermione matter of factly. She wrapped an arm around Ginny and brought her close.

Ginny gave in to Hermione's friendly display of affection and rested her head gently on the older girl's shoulder. She didn't particularly want to share what had been going on but she couldn't help but trust her when she looked into the brunette's warm brown eyes.

Ginny hadn't told anyone but Hermione had become some what of a hero figure to her. Sure, Harry and Ron were brave as well but there was something undeniably awe-striking in the raw talent and potential of Hermione Jean Granger.

The youngest Weasley found Hermione to be the ideal witch, brilliant, kind and beautiful as well.

"Hermione, I trust you to keep this to yourself and I don't know how to say this exactly but, I could show you?" asked Ginny softly.

Hermione Granger nodded in the affirmative, squeezing Ginny's arm and looking into her eyes sincerely. "You can trust me Ginny, what is it?"

Ginny tentatively drew her wand from her jeans pocket and tapped her body with it, whispering the incantation under her breath.

Hermione gasped as dark bruises started to appear over Ginny's neck and arms. "Ginny...Oh m-my God," she stammered, unsure of what she could possibly say.

Ginny recast the illusion spell and the bruises instantly disappeared.

"Bloody hell," Hermione uncharacteristically swore. "I'm gonna kill that seething idiot."

Hermione stared into Ginny's eyes, and felt her heart break at the sadness in them.

"I didn't mind or care," admitted Ginny. "Its not like I haven't taken my fair share of bruises before and I have magic to heal my injuries faster b-but...I didn't want to show anyone so I've just been covering them up."

Hermione could only stare at the younger girl, her insides wrenching horribly.

"Oh God, Ginny. How could you -How long have you let this been going on?" Hermione snapped. She made a mental note to dial it back a notch when Ginny jumped, hurt showing in her eyes.

"I-It was only the second time and i-it wasn't so bad the first time." said Ginny quickly, edging away from the older girl as she leaned towards her.

"Oh Ginny." Hermione whispered, heartbroken. "You poor thing." Hermione hugged Ginny gently, being careful not to squeeze too hard and sighed heavily. Ginny couldn't help but shiver as Hermione's warm breath traveled down her neck. The close proximity and feeling the older girls breath so close to her sensitive skin caused a familiar heat in the red head's cheeks.

"Hermione its fine...I told you I'm a tough girl," said Ginny matter of factly. "I wanted him to stay and work it out you know? I really love him."

"I don't know though, I think hes more shocked about it than I am and he won't come to his senses anytime soon. I don't know. I'm kind of out of options here," said Ginny sadly, hugging her knees closer and burying her face against them.

"A-Absolutely No!" cried on Hermione incredulously. "You...You don't deserv-what I mean to say is. Harry needs a proper sorting out before you can even think about getting back together with him." She felt a righteous fury boiling inside of her. "How could you even think of letting this kind of thing go on?" moaned Hermione clenching her fists in frustration. "I ought to sock him one proper."

Ginny shook her head violently.

"No Hermione, you can't," she pleaded. "You said I could trust you please."

Hermione closed her eyes in deep thought for a few moments, clearly annoyed by Ginny's response. "Oh, do you think you could trust Ron? I think between the two of us we could figure out the right thing to do. He is our best friend after all."

Ginny gulped, feeling apprehensive about it but finally nodded in assent.

* * *

"Bloody hell, I'll kill him!" exclaimed Ron angrily.

"I can't believe he hit you!" Ron exploded again, "How DARE HE HIT MY SISTER?!"

"Shove off it Ron, he didn't mean to," murmured Ginny quietly.

"I don't care if he's my best mate, I'll curse the bloody hell out of him I will!" snapped back Ron, pacing back and forth angrily. "Merlin… Ginny, that on your neck. Don't tell me that was him?"

"I'll bloody kill him!" exploded Ron again without waiting for Ginny to answer.

"I'm so sorry," whispered Hermione gently, squeezing Ginny's hand. "I can't even imagine…Harry. It's so hard to believe. I can't wrap my head around it honestly," she admitted. The older woman's brows furrowed in frustration.

"Wait till George, Bill, and Charlie hear about this! No never mind that, wait until Mum hears about this!"

"Ron!" shouted Ginny angrily. "Don't you dare tell them anything!"

Hermione sighed loudly and stood up, wrapping Ron tightly into her embrace. "Come on now, this is Harry we're talking about. It can't be easy for either of them."

"And you're saying this is okay with you, are you?" spat Ron, pointing a trembling finger at Ginny's neck. Ginny covered her neck with her hands and looked away, her eyes void of emotion.

"No, of course it isn't okay!" exclaimed Hermione, her eyes flashing angrily. "I have half a mind to hex him myself but would you calm down a little bit first? We hardly know what's going on and its Harry we're talking about."

Ron abruptly tore himself away from Hermione and wrapped up Ginny in a warm embrace. "I'm so sorry baby sis…I'm here for you."

Ginny felt some warmth in her chest but mostly she could only feel defeated and broken. "Thanks Ron, and yeah, believe me, I'm glad I have your ugly mug around," she muttered.

Ron sighed deeply and grabbed his head in frustration.

"Alright then, I'm going to take a shower but afterwards we're getting some bloody food. Everything's bound to be a hundred times worse on an empty stomach." Ginny nodded numbly and Ron stormed off to use the showers in the boy's bathroom.

"You two aren't snogging and shagging are you?" Ginny managed after a few moments of silence between the two girls.

Hermione gasped and slapped Ginny arm, "Ginny!" she hissed, a red tinge starting to spread over her features.

Ginny couldn't help but chuckle a little at Hermione's reaction. "You are too cute Mione."

"Well, I won't say it's easy but we're going at it at our own pace," said Hermione, the beginnings of a smile forming on her face.

"You mean the shagging?" quipped Ginny without missing a beat.

Hermione laughed out loud, her face becoming flushed again and groaned loudly.

"Ginny, Mercy please…and no, I can't quite imagine shagging your brother just yet. I'm going to explode from too much blood rushing to my face at this rate! Lay off it will you?"

"Can't believe anyone can find the ugly git attractive," muttered Ginny, sounding quite sincere.

"Hey! He has his own charm. You just can't see it because he's your brother." Hermione retorted, a small grin appearing on her face.

"Merlin, Ron sure got lucky alright," mused Ginny, admiring Hermione's delicate features.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, smiling brightly. "I'm nothing special honestly."

Ginny smiled weakly back, "I figured you'd be the one to end up with Harry in the end, not me," she admitted. "Then I realized a while back you were only into ugly gits."

"Hey you, stop complimenting and then insulting me and Ron already will you?" Hermione snapped playfully.

Ginny smiled weakly at the brunette witch sitting next to her.

"Well Miss Cheeky, what about you then? Have you and Harry been able to manage some mischief?" Hermione asked. She immediately regretted her question as visible pain entered Ginny's features.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Ginny. I am such an insensitive idiot,"

Hermione murmured. She had gotten carried away with Ginny's cheeky façade and unintentionally hurt her.

Seeing Ginny's mask drop and the true pain shining through, the brunette witch cursed at herself in her head reprimanding herself for being so insensitive._ Brightest witch of my age my arse. _

"Just once," said Ginny quietly but she couldn't mask the heavy emotion from her voice.

She involuntarily touched the bruises on her neck and Hermione quickly put one and one together.

Hermione felt her heart break for the poor girl in front of her, only barely able to imagine how horrible it had truly been for the young Weasley.

"He didn't…He didn't!?" Hermione grabbed Ginny's hand tears forming in her own eyes. "Oh Ginny…what have you been through?"

Ginny looked away, tears starting to stream down her cheeks.

"Please…don't look at me that way Hermione." Ginny whispered, she paused for a while before asking quietly "Could you _obliviate_ me you think? It'd be nice if I could make this all go away."

"Ginny…" Hermione closed her eyes in pain at the sincerity of Ginny's requests. She hugged Ginny tightly and Ginny felt the older girls tears against her cheek. "Please don't say that…I-me and Ron, we're here for you."

Hermione held the young red head close like a child despite Ginny having a few inches of height on her.

Ginny closed her weary eyes.

"It will be okay, believe me," whispered Hermione gently and Ginny wanted nothing more than to believe.

* * *

Harry Potter collapsed onto his bed staring at the ceiling.

_What in the hell is wrong with me?_ He groaned, thinking about what he had just lost. Waves of anguish pummeled Harry as he tossed and turned in his bed at 12 Grimmaulds place.

_Ginny..._The image of the beautiful redhead filled Harry with desperation.

_I have to go back...I have to go apologize and beg on my knees and..._

He knew he couldn't do it. All too clear the images would come back to him.

Anger, frustration, pain of the deepest kind for having lost so many loved ones and being responsible for so many deaths.

He had been unable to shoulder the burden and had turned to alcohol like a fool for comfort... and he had hit Ginny...

Sweet, innocent, loving Ginny.

Harry felt tears come to his eyes as he recalled her fearful face.

The way she tried not to scream in pain as he swung his fist into her over and over.

And then what he had done afterwards. Harry nearly vomited then and there recalling it.

And then...Her warm soft hands wrapping around him in the aftermath of his shame and her soft gentle lips pressing against his cheek.

Her reassurances that everything was going to be okay.

His knuckles had hurt but the sweet angel was kissing and comforting him.

Harry thought he was going to be sick.

_Neither can live while the other survives_

Harry clenched his head, fearful that his scar might start hurting again but nothing happened.

_Something is wrong with me_

Something dark within him was rising and it scared the hell out of him. He burst out laughing. "Oh Merlin, I am going completely nutters."

Something about the way he laughed gave Harry the chills and he sat up, once again fearful. He was no stranger to the influences of the dark arts and he couldn't shake the suspicion that something was wrong. After all, he would never dream of it, hurting his sweet angel Ginny in the way that he had.

"What the hell is going on," Harry muttered, sitting up abruptly and staring in shock at his hands through the dim lighting of his bedroom.

_Hadn't I been through enough shit. Was it not enough after everything that I couldn't just have a happy life and some god damn rest_?

Harry helplessly grinned, wondering why it was he couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

Closing notes: Hope you guys enjoyed, Reviews/criticism are appreciated as always.

lolsama


	2. Chapter 2

An: Need to go back to chapter 1 and add some comas

Thanks for reading

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

"Oh, I can't believe Harry skipped all of his final exams!" exclaimed Hermione after taking a large swig of butterbeer and slamming it a little too roughly on the table. She stared vacantly at her boyfriend sitting across the table from her, still a little frazzled from cramming so much material over the past couple of days (which had been a nightmare with her constant worrying over Harry and Ginny).

The Three Broomsticks was bustling with activity but the young couple had found a quiet corner to share drinks in. Madam Rosmerta seemed ecstatic that the 'now celebrity' couple had come to visit her establishment, swinging by to check on their drinks every few minutes.

"Well, he's had a lot on his mind, we all know that," muttered Ron, glancing across the table at Hermione with a solemn look on his face. "Just glad it's all done with now."

"I know, I'm just as relieved as you that our N.E.W.T.S. are over with, just…I'm worried about him that's all," said Hermione, looking away from Ron tiredly. "It's nice to relax but he's not answering any of my owls… He's been gone for weeks now. You would think he'd have the decency to give us a notice or something so we wouldn't have to worry so much!"

Ron did share much of Hermione's anxiety over Harry disappearing but ever since he found out about what Harry had done to his sister, he couldn't help but harbor a substantial amount of anger for his best mate.

"Honestly I'm not surprised he's not showing his face around here after what he'd done," said Ron a little angrily.

It wasn't something that could truly damage their friendship after all they had been through but it was enough to give him a calloused feeling of indifference for the time being.

Hermione looked positively downcast and it annoyed the young Weasley.

"Stop moping around Hermione! You think he'll actually have trouble becoming an Auror because he's missed a few exams? I think he's proven himself quite enough by now to not need that kind of hogwash.

We both know the three of us are more capable than most of the blokes who have been working in the ministry for years and besides, he's a bloody celebrity! Even if he wanted to do nothing for the rest of his miserable life he has more than enough galleons in his bank to last him several life times."

Hermione tried not to look too peeved when Ron referred to their final exams as hogwash, especially after all the suffering she had been through but managed to brush it off.

"That's not what I'm worried about," responded Hermione curtly. "You don't think I know a thing or two about Harry? I've been by his and your side for how long now- looking after you two? Don't speak to me as if I don't bloody know him."

Ron could tell Hermione on edge and rather than engaging in a hopeless argument, he nodded tiredly and took a deep gulp of his own butterbeer.

The red head of the golden trio wondered if confronting Harry was even a good idea at the moment.

He wanted to punch him in the face but also Hermione's doubts had started to get to him as well. It was rather peculiar that their friend, Harry Potter of all people would have the nerve to strike Ginny and then disappear for weeks without contacting them.

"Things just don't add up Ron," continued Hermione after a moment of reflection.

"We both know Harry isn't the type to…_you know_," she whispered the last part. "It just doesn't make any sense. Something's seriously wrong and we should be there for him right this instant.

There's just so much we don't know about the dark arts after all this time. I should…I need to find out what is causing this!" finished Hermione.

"There's nothing to figure out Hermione, give it a rest will you?" shouted Ron. "You're going completely mental worrying about him. You didn't think he'd be completely normal after all that's happened? None of us are the same anymore! We never will be!"

Hermione grit her teeth and stared down at the chipped wooden surface of the table. She recalled Ginny's tears- the sorrow in her eyes, and clenched her fists. Ever since she had held Ginny in her arms and comforted her, she had a burning need to track down Harry, confront him, and fix all this nonsense.

If she couldn't do it... then who could? _I just want to see you smile again, _she thought, surprising herself at how much her heart hurt for the youngest Weasley.

Ron sighed and took Hermione's clenched fist in his own, rubbing his thumb gently over the back of Hermione's hand. "Relax Hermione, I'm here for you. We're both here for Ginny and things will be okay."

"Help me track him down then will you?" asked Hermione quietly, looking into Ron's eyes. Ron felt his heart melt at the warm, needy expression in Hermione's eyes. "Yes…of course Hermione, absolutely."

She smiled weakly and leaned forward to give him a chaste kiss. Ron responded and smiled genuinely, a red tinge spreading across his face and squeezed Hermione's hand a little harder. "I-I love you Hermione,"

The brunette smiled back happily but for some reason she couldn't say it back. Ron sensed Hermione's hesitation and drew his hand back quickly, a small hint of annoyance appearing in his eyes."I-It's okay Hermione, take your time. We finally have some time to bloody relax and figure things out. No need to rush things."

"No, it's…I do l-love you Ron it's just that…We've rushed a lot of things already and I don't want us to go about it the wrong way. It's very important to me," she assured him, taking his hands back in hers and giving them a gentle squeeze.

Ron positively beamed and chugged the rest of his butterbeer, sighing in relief.

"How about another butterbeer then?" he asked.

Hermione smiled back. "Okay then," she started. "Forget the end of year celebrations, let's leave and investigate Grimmaulds place tonight."

* * *

A cloaked figure shifted in the abyss of a dark room, causing a cloud of dust to rise up illuminated by the thin beams of a half moon.

"Have we gotten to him?" asked a scratchy voice from somewhere within the darkness. The distinct creaking of a rocking chair could be heard.

"Yes, indeed we have," assured the standing cloaked figure, flipping through the pages of a rather thick book. "If all goes according to plan, we'll have our next dark lord yet."

A deep unsettling laugh rang out throughout the darkened room followed by silence for a few moments.

"Harry… Potter, how cruel this plan of yours is," muttered the scratchy voice from the rocking chair.

"You are a rather brilliant witch aren't you?" said another voice accompanied by a flash of silver from the speaker's eyes.

The standing figure said nothing.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard approaching from the nearby corridor. "The filthy mudbloods and traitors think they've won this war, but evil never sleeps and there is much to take vengeance for."

The cloaked figure shifted. "Lucius," she drawled lazily, "Late again? I know you support our cause and your loyalty is not questioned but if you keep disappointing me… I'll kill your mudblood loving son! Have you brought the necessary ingredients for the next phase of our plan?"

Lucius nodded, frustration and anger shining through his eyes. Blood matted the side of his face and the tattered state of his clothes were a clear indication of how much he had suffered to gather aforementioned ingredients.

"Yes… and my son Draco, I shall teach him a proper lesson. He will not betray us again."

The tall slytherin dropped a brown package on the table causing more dust to unsettle and permeate through the air.

"The Knights of Walpurgis," whispered a new voice from the other side of the room. "-are not defeated yet it seems. It pleases me to know you continue to remain…loyal to our cause."

"Please, you know that my loyalty is unquestionable," said Lucius, bending a knee and lowering his head before the three cloaked figures.

"I shall gather more Death Eaters who can be trusted as soon as I can. It's a little hard at the moment since I am currently under heavy watch." He glanced nervously at the second barely visible cloaked figure which sat on a rocking chair and to a third one barely visible person on the far side of the room. "I assure you, I managed to arrive here unseen."

The cloaked figure gave a curt nod. "It matters little, news of our arrival shall soon spread. Caster here can barely contain his excitement can he?" The rhythm of the rocking chair in the corner increased momentarily followed by silence.

"Our beloved Voldemort has indeed managed to push the boundaries of magic to great extents," started the standing cloaked figure, dropping the book she was holding on the table and drawing back her hood to reveal long raven hair.

"But he is not the only one who has experimented." The woman's face was covered partially by a white theatre mask, her skin unsettlingly corpse like in appearance.

Her luscious lips curled into a sinister sneer and her dark eyes flashed golden with power, momentarily casting an eery glow through the eye sockets of her mask. "Dark lords exist all over the world my dear Lucius, and since the fall of Tom Riddle… I have managed to gather them all here. Together we will plunge the muggle world of London into Armageddon " The raven haired woman laughed musically, causing goosebumps to rise on the elder Malfoy's skin.

"The first wave of dark wizards are here from Asia, North America, Russia...It is only the beginning - many more will soon arrive. We shall bring the chosen one to our side and then purge this world," she finished in a whisper.

* * *

"Don't," shouted Ginny. "Stop, please…OW," Ginny awoke cursing loudly and grabbing her hand in pain.

She had lashed out in her sleep and struck the bed post. "Bloody Merlin McGonagall," she hissed, wondering how her favorite teacher ended up in her string of swearing.

The young Weasley sat up and felt tears running down her cheeks and sighed heavily, stomping her foot in frustration at her exhausting mental state and the ringing pain in her hand.

"Harry…what have you done to me," she whispered sadly, falling back on to the bed. Her silky red hair fanned out on all sides of her and she could feel the cool strands of her hair underneath her palms.

Her chest heaved, still beating fast from the adrenaline pumping throughout her system.

No matter how much she pretended that it was okay, Harry's cold eyes, the sneer on his normally gentle face had frightened her.

She reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes and laughed helplessly, covering her face with her hands.

_Would Dean have hurt me like this? I…I didn't love him though. Don't start regretting Ginny, you wanted this from the very beginning. _

She hadn't wanted what had happened she realized, but Harry Potter was the man of her dreams.

She knew his soul was tortured and she wanted to be there to mend it for him. Even as he struck her she had only been thinking of how she could somehow reach him and make him feel better.

_Hermione…_Ginny blinked in confusion wondering why thoughts of the brunette witch had suddenly popped up in her mind.

She sighed, remembering the older girl's gentle arms holding her, how unbelievably refreshing it felt to confide in her - the emotion in her eyes.

She had wanted to kiss her tears away she realized with an uncomfortable feeling settling in her stomach.

The red headed chaser wrinkled her nose at her own surprising thoughts.

There was a time when Ginny idolized the brunette nearly as much as she idolized Harry. She was an absolutely brilliant witch and had grown bewitchingly attractive over the years. Not only was she one of the most resourceful and intelligent witches she knew, she was kind, loyal, and above all courageous.

_Ginny…You have to want better for yourself, _rang Harry's voice in her mind.

Ron's girlfriend. The brightest witch of her age. Hermione Jean Granger.

She would treat her right wouldn't she? _I'm such a hopeless nut case, _Ginny thought angrily.

The redhead knew that her adoration for Harry and Hermione was childish in its roots and wished she could have somehow accomplished more…been more beneficial to the war then she had been. If only she had a small portion of the golden trio's accomplishments under her belt, maybe Harry would have seen her in a better light.

_Maybe Hermione would admire me back…_

Ginny pushed her thoughts away and stared sullenly at the moon through the window in her room.

She had managed to scrape by her final examinations, or so she hoped and had only one year left at Hogwarts to look forward to but she was still young and had plenty of time to accomplish great things. Still, she couldn't help comparing herself to the greatness of the golden trio.

She had always been very confident in herself but measuring up to Harry, Hermione, and Ron made her feel small, unaccomplished and unattractive.

_You aim too high Ginny,_ thought the chaser to herself, hugging her knees to her chest and curling up on her side. She had plenty of admirers… boys and girls alike who had expressed interest in being with her but she had constantly shut them down. _Well, except Michael...Dean...Katie..._

Being one of the stars on the quidditch team as well as her good looks and fiery charm had captivated more than one or two of her peers. _Maybe next year I'll give one of my admirers a chance, _she thought. _It can't hurt my self-confidence being spoiled and idolized for a change. _

She realized that Ron, Harry and Hermione would be gone and felt her chest sinking. Ginny would miss them dearly and in her current state she didn't see herself loving anyone again. Especially not in the way that she had loved Harry. _Loved? Love...always will love?_

_At least there's no clearer choice for Quidditch captain next year, _she thought attempting to distract herself from negative thoughts with the first flicker of a smile forming on her face. Her love life was definitely a mess but she was a brilliant quidditch player and she loved the game whole heartily.

"Holyhead Harpies," she whispered quietly to herself, starting to feel a little brighter. Day dreaming about being a professional player for her dream team always managed to raise her spirits somewhat ...but even her day dreams could only take her so far these days.

She was exhausted and fed up with feeling miserable quite honestly but she couldn't help how her heart ached. Thoughts of raising a family and having kids flashed in Ginny's mind and although she felt a familiar pang of sadness, she also began to feel an unsettling amount of bitterness as well.

She almost didn't want it anymore out of spite for how much pain this particular set of dreams had cost her.

She chastised herself for all the hours she had spent, dreaming about what she'd name her children and the romantic things Harry would do for her. Still though, with Hermione on her mind as the only other romantic interest she had…her life wasn't destined to be too happy it seemed.

_No bloody point fancying your brothers girlfriend you stupid, stupid girl_, Ginny chastised herself angrily.

She missed her family dearly and couldn't wait to return to the Burrow.

She had dreaded going back initially, realizing the black hole that would be there from Fred's death but she knew they had to be there for each other.

If she could cheer George up even a little, she knew she was doing something worthwhile with her life for a change and spending time with family was just the distraction she needed from her confusing thoughts.

* * *

Harry knew the rain was pummeling his body but felt nothing, sitting in the mud in front of Doby's grave with a vacant expression on his face.

Rain poured down matting his hair against his face and he dully acknowledged that a haircut was overdue.

_Maybe I'll just grow it out a bit, _considered Harry thinking that a drastic change in his appearance might be desirable in his current state.

He pushed his wet bangs back with a slightly muddy hand, clearing his field of vision and exposing the lightning shaped scar on his head.

He had finally looked up and cast the damn eyesight charm he'd been contemplating for years and had disposed his glasses last night.

The boy felt a little _different_ without them but not necessarily in a bad way. He was an absolute mess he knew. _I don't know why I thought visiting everyone's graves would make me feel any better_ thought Harry darkly. _Sirius…Lupin…Fred…Doby, I miss you all so much, _thought Harry sadly, clenching the fabric over his heart tightly. He closed his eyes as one by one, their deaths played in slow motion in his head.

Mud from his palms remained on his slightly crumpled dress shirt as he lay back, closing his eyes as the rain continued to pour down. His heart beat irregularly, shocking his eyes back open.

_Kill them_ he thought dully. _Kill the rest of the Death eaters. Make them pay for what they've done._ Harry shook his head, knowing that his thoughts were not right.

_Ginny…_ Harry felt his heart breaking all over again. The pain was as fresh as the moment he had sliced into his own heart.

He wished there was a way to surgically remove his emotions. _…Obliviate…Cruciate…_could he even cruciate himself?

He felt that he hated himself enough to try.

_Stop being such a dark prat and pull yourself together for Merlin sake, _he thought angrily. "I'm better than this," the boy said to no one. "I'm…I'm better than this."

_They have to pay…_Harry's fists clenched. _They killed my parents, they killed my friends, they've taken everything from me! _

He had become so twisted that he had struck Ginny. She was so pure and passionate that he had often related being near her to sitting next to a warm fireplace. Harry Potter had felt so safe and comfortable around the bright beauty that was Ginny. Now that they were over, the memory of her was a burning, all consuming flame that hollowed him from the inside out and turned what happiness he had left into ash.

_Those bastards have to pay for what they've done to me...to us._

He wasn't sure if those were his thoughts or if he was going completely mad but what frightened him the most was that he was starting to agree.

He was more then capable of becoming an auror and tracking down each and every one of those Death Eater bastards.

Harry imagined cornering a death eater and skinning him alive with his wand. _Skinning him alive? _

Harry remained expressionless as he stared into the expanse of the dark sky above him, burdened by his dark thoughts.

_Hermione…Ron…_Harry snapped out of his dark thoughts, feeling like himself for the first time in weeks.

His two best friends had to be going out of their minds worrying about him. He sighed, unable to figure out why he hadn't given them a single thought until now. Spending the first summer after the war by himself at Grimmaulds place seemed…bleak at best.

He desperately wanted to be at the burrow with Ron but he couldn't allow himself to go near Ginny anymore. _I wonder if Hermione would be okay if I stayed with her_, wondered Harry, finding himself running out of likable options. The hero reflected on how few there were of his friends left.

* * *

Draco Malfoy whistled to himself as he strode down the hallway of his father's mansion, having just come back from a date with Astoria greengrass. After all the horrors he had endured and the loss of his friend Crabbe, it was refreshing to not have the threat of death looming constantly over his head. Having a proper snog with a young witch once in a while certainly didn't hurt his mood either.

The days following Voldemorts defeat had been particularly difficult, especially dealing with all the heat his family had taken for being Death Eaters but gradually he was learning to block out the hateful stares and the judgmental whispers that followed him wherever he went.

He grit his teeth angrily whenever he remembered the humiliation he was forced to endure at the hands of Potter and gang but since peace time was finally upon them, he had slowly begun to embrace it. The lot wasn't so bad, even a brainwashed pure blood egotist like him could see that they were heroes. _Heroes, bunch of stuck up prats they were_ not that he could talk, he reminded himself.

He felt shame coursing through his veins whenever he recalled his attitude and behavior to the golden trio. How he had hated them, cursed them, wished them dead. He'd almost rather have lost his life than deal with the humiliation. How Draco wished he could have seen sooner that so called _mudbloods_ could be just as talented and brilliant as pure blood wizards. Hermione Granger had more than proven that fact. He had always seen it but his upbringing refused to let him acknowledge it until it was too late to change his ways. Her tortured screams rang in Draco's head, causing him to wince at the memory.

"Draco my boy," Lucius called coldly.

"Father," responded Draco in an even tone, straightening up and facing him head on. It was how he had been taught to address his father since an early age. "How was your day?"

Lucius smirked, giving his son a small nod.

"Draco, the war... isn't over. Dark Lords from all over the world have heard of Harry Potter's triumph over Voldemort. They have come to put an end to this insufferable status quo that the muggle loving traitors in the ministry have created.

Draco froze cold, his heart starting to race. _It isn't over? Merlin have mercy_

"You will play an important role as well, do you understand Draco?" drawled his father lazily, eyeing his son carefully.

It was Draco's cold feet and incompetence that had landed his family on Voldemort's bad side in the first place.

"I'll kill you myself if you don't perform above and beyond our expectations," he finished coldly, staring Draco down.

"Yes sir," responded Draco curtly, trying to not let any emotion seep into his voice. He was panicking badly on the inside however and was counting down the seconds until he could get away and unfreeze his countenance. He wanted to scream, run away, curse his father on the spot and rid his control over him but he could only stand there-rooted in fear. "You know I won't let you down father."

* * *

**AN: Thanks for the reviews. Feed back and criticism encouraged**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

"Well, looks like he's not here," said Ron matter of factly as he hung up his coat, flicking his wand to turn on the lights in the living room of 12 Grimmauld Place. The red head pocketed his wand and wrinkled his nose. "Blimey, you'd think Harry would get Kreacher to clean up once in a while. This place is nearly as filthy as it was before mum and Ginny got to it."

Hermione glanced around, eyeing the gothic architecture and the general state of disorder. She nodded in agreement after a few moments, shedding off her own coat and sat on the couch with a great sigh. The couple had arrived an hour earlier and had searched every nook and cranny of Harry's estate for clues. The young witch's brows furrowed as she folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against the cool material of the couch.

"So should we camp out here for a few nights then?" asked Ron suggestively, walking around to hug the brunette gently from behind. "Don't reckon Harry would mind it if we-"

Hermione blushed. "Ron Weasley! It's hardly the time to—"

"Relax Hermione, In separate rooms of course," cut off Ron looking slightly irritated.

Hermione's reluctance to be intimate with him was seriously starting to bother the red headed wizard. Harry had told him how much Hermione had been upset when he abandoned the horcrux hunt but he found it hard to believe she was still harboring resentment over that. The fact remained, however, that he did abandon Hermione when she needed him the most and he regretted it ever since. _Bloody evil horcrux is still haunting me. Can't even get laid, _thought Ron bitterly.

There had been rifts in their relationship and she quickly lost her patience with him these days but he had to give his girlfriend some credit...no matter how angry she got, she never mentioned the incident to gain leverage in an argument.

Harry had also told him about how jealous and upset Hermione had been when he was dating Lavender Brown. Ron couldn't believe he didn't notice Hermione's feelings then and mentally cursed himself. _Great, not only am I not dependable, I'm a thick headed git as well. Just fantastic, _thought Ron. He couldn't believe his luck, after all of his mistakes, Hermione remained loyal to him. Ron reminded himself of his self imposed promise to let Hermione initiate being intimate with him when she was ready.

_Lavender Brown hadn't been so reluctant to give it up,_ complained Ron mentally but he quickly shook his head, trying to clear his perverted thoughts. He was slightly worried about Hermione's sharp intuition and ability to read his facial features like a book.

_Oh well, I guess I'll keep hinting at it until it finally blood happens,_ thought Ron. He found it incredibly difficult to control his desires around the beautiful Hermione Granger, his passions driven even further by the knowledge that she belonged to him. Her lack of interest in being physical with him was a barrier he hoped to over come soon.

Still, they hadn't really acted like much of a couple since the war ended and Ron worried that Hermione was beginning to lose interest in him. Whenever he tried to push the boundaries of their relationship, she would push back and avoid him.

_Waiting is not all bad, it'll make it even better__ when I finally go all the way with you, _thought Ron admiring Hermione's beautiful features for a moment.

He realized he had been staring and coughed into his hand, trying to remember what they were talking about. "Well…He has to come back home sometime and honestly he could be anywhere. There are about a dozen places he might be," he offered.

Hermione nodded slowly. "We have to split up so we can cover more ground. Something feels very wrong about this Ron," she said worriedly.

Ron shrugged, "Well, I haven't the foggiest where to go looking for him but I don't like the idea of you wandering all about the wizarding world on your own."

Hermione looked up at Ron, leaning her head back against his stomach. "Worried Ron? I'm more than capable you know,"

"That's not the point Hermione, you're just…very important to me. I know you're a brilliant witch but I still want to be by your side. With Harry gone missing it's only natural that I worry about you. I don't want you to end up missing too!"

Hermione felt both annoyed and touched at Ron's affections for her. She reached up to touch his hand which was resting gently against her shoulder. "Well, at least we can cast a simple alarm spell here to notify us if Harry does come back to Grimmaulds."

Ron leaned forward, hugging the brunette closer to him and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Alright Hermione, you're brilliant as always."

He watched as Hermione absentmindedly drew her wand from her jeans pocket and flicked her wrist towards the door. She really had an incredible repertoire of spells stored in that brain of hers… and her ability to cast wordless jinxes was phenomenal.

"Right then," started Hermione, standing up. "Charms in place so if Harry does come back here, we'll both know straight away." The young brunette extended her arms out and her coat jumped off the couch and fit itself onto her frame.

"Start back home at the Burrow and ask around about Harry, maybe they've heard something. Afterwards go to Shell Cottage and see if Bill or Fleur have seen him. If they don't know anything then the next step is up to you." The young brunette turned to leave, anxious to find Harry Potter and finally put her fears to rest.

"I'll check Diagon Alley and the Ministry, Kingsley Shaklebolt might know something," said Hermione as she pushed open the door of 12 Grimmaulds Place and glancing back at her boyfriend with a anxious expression on her face. "Make sure to let me know the moment you run into any trouble," she said after a few moments.

Ron was only a few steps behind her and he closed the distance, kissing Hermione gently on the lips. He pulled her in for a warm embrace and held her close, enjoying the softness of the witch's body. "You be careful too Hermione."

Hermione smiled at him reassuringly, touching her lips gingerly and after taking a few steps away from him, she disapparated.

* * *

Hermione frowned, the kiss with Ron foremost in her thoughts. Why couldn't she feel those sparks anymore? The more intimate Ron was with her, the more unsure she was of being with him. She didn't know what it was, but something had started to change in the way she felt about her long time friend and now boyfriend.

Hermione sighed, reflecting on her pathetic love life thus far. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she was ever meant to settle down and be happy. The brunette was still plagued by many of her old insecurities and for some reason, she felt like she just needed some space to think –to breathe for a moment and sort herself out.

_How can I tell Ron without breaking his heart though? _Hermione mused as she traveled down Diagon alley, staring down at the cobbled road. _We've been friends for nearly eight years now...__Just tell him how it is and be done with it, _Hermione thought to herself as she scanned the crowd around her for any familiar faces. Hermione remembered a time when she would have done almost anything to get Ron to return her feelings. Getting him to notice her as more than a friend had been incredibly frustrating and even when she finally managed to captivate his interest, he abandoned her and accused her of wanting Harry instead. She was sincerely happy when he finally asked her out, but the more time she spent with him, the less likely it seemed that investing in a long term future together was such a good idea.

She sighed, trying to remember how happy she felt when he said her name instead of Lavender's at Hogwarts several years ago... and how she swooned when they kissed during the final battle against Voldemort's army. The brunette witch analyzed all of the potential reasons why she had been losing interest in Ron over the past few months. _One, he's irrational and hurtful when hes angry. Two, he can be maddeningly insensitive and rude. Three, he keeps trying to cop a feel and take things further and faster then I want_.. listed Hermione in her head. She kept her head low and walked briskly, trying to avoid the stares from the passing by wizards and witches. Murmurs and stares no longer bothered the witch but she couldn't say she particularly enjoyed the attention.

"Is that -the- Hermione Granger?" whispered an awe struck witch as she passed by. Her friend bumped her with her elbow and pulled the gawking witch away.

_Four, I might be becoming interested in someone el-_

Hermione froze in her tracks, startled from her thoughts when her eyes met with Draco Malfoy's. The tall slytherin was standing right in front of her looking as surprised as she was. The blonde wizard frowned slightly when their eyes met and then looked away, moving to her left to walk past her without saying anything. Hermione couldn't shake the time old feeling that the Slytherin wizard was up to no good and stepped in his path, staring up into his blank eyes.

"Draco Malfoy," she said coldly, placing her hands on her hips and squaring off against her former enemy.

"Granger," muttered Draco, sighing and looking down at the younger girl. Hermione could tell that he was making quite the effort to not sneer at her as he usually did and mentally complimented him for his efforts.

Draco felt his pulse rise and all the memories of being saved by the young witch in front of him rushed to his face. He hated this feeling of humiliation and regret that he felt for being such a prat to her all these years. Still, as time passed after Voldemort's defeat… he had secretly yearned for an opportunity like this to apologize and make things up to her if he could.

Hermione's expression slowly softened as she took into account how uncomfortable the young Malfoy looked. "Alright Malfoy, what's going on with you? You look awfully guilty for some reason."

Malfoy felt anger rising in his chest at Hermione's mocking tone. "Shove off Granger, I don't have time to be standing around talking to the likes of you."

Hermione felt conflicted as Draco stormed off. She used to dislike him with a fiery passion but she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him as well. Malfoy had been caught between good and evil and had chosen to be good in the end. _Well, if he wants to be a miserable prat then let him, _thought Hermione angrily, watching the retreating figure push its way through the crowd.

Hermione felt her mood brighten considerably as she made her way to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She looked forward to having a chat with George Weasley, especially since she hadn't had much of a chance to be there for him since Fred's death.

Hermione ducked her head as she entered the shop, a group of second year students yelled in delight as they chased a whizzing orb around the shop. Every time one of the students managed to touch it, it would shoot rainbow colored bubbles in every direction. Hermione pushed her way past another group of customers crowding a brilliant display of fireworks constantly exploding in a large glass box.

Hermione felt her heart beat quicken when she caught sight of Ginny Weasley standing at the counter, flipping intently through a quidditch magazine. The red head looked adorable, thought Hermione as she noticed the way Ginny's eyes were captivated by the news article she was reading. The red head leaned restlessly from side to side, wearing an employee uniform that had a goofy looking wizard holding the store logo on the front.

Hermione slowly approached the counter and slammed her hands against the counter, startling the young chaser. "Hermione! …Merlin it's so good to see you," said Ginny smiling widely.

She athletically vaulted over the counter and wrapped Hermione into a warm embrace, lifting her off the ground and twirling her around before setting her down again.

Hermione mentally noted the way her heart raced when Ginny hugged her and decided to tuck it away for further analysis at a later time. "Ginny, It's so good to see you. How are you? Where's George?" she asked amicably feeling a rush of excitement from being twirled around by the younger girl.

"Oh, George took a day off. I lost a game of exploding snap against him and got stuck working here all day. It's been absolutely horrid Hermione," whined Ginny, trying to prove her point by looking miserable. Ginny couldn't help but smile brightly after a few moments of pretending and looked down at Hermione excitedly. "So, how's my miserable git of a brother doing?"

Hermione noticed the way Ginny's eyes sparkled in excitement and couldn't help but grin back. "He's okay, we're actually both out looking for Harry."

Hermione felt her heart sink at the flash of pain in Ginny's eyes but it had been disappeared from her features nearly as quickly as it had come. "He's alright isn't he?" asked Ginny worriedly, true concern showing in her features. "Oh, is there anything I could do to help Hermione?"

"No, I don't think you can be bothered now anyways. Just keep a look out and let me know if you hear from him will you?" responded Hermione, clasping her hands together behind her back and looking into Ginny's eyes.

The fire haired girl nodded and started to walk back to the counter as a customer approached. "Just one sec Hermione," she said apologetically as she quickly assisted the customer with his transaction. After putting the money away in the cash register she lazily vaulted over the counter again, leaning against it this time on her elbows. "Please say you'll stick around, I've been bored to tears," said Ginny, looking at Hermione with a puppy dog expression on her face.

Hermione laughed, punching the younger girl gently on the shoulder. "Quit it, you know that sort of thing won't work on me."

"I actually don't know if it will or not," admitted Ginny. "I haven't tried it on you before." The red head slouched so she was about Hermione's height and gave her the best puppy dog eyes she could manage.

Hermione smirked. "Well, I have to admit that I'm not completely unaffected…but I have a schedule to keep." She really did want to stay all of a sudden.

Ginny snorted and nodded after a moment. "Yeah, please make sure he's okay will you? I've been worried sick about him," admitted the red head.

"Don't worry too much Ginny. I'm sure he's fine," assured Hermione. The brunette mentally complimented the youngest Weasley for her strong spirit and bright disposition despite all the mental anguish she must have been through. "He's such an idiot for losing you," blurted out Hermione suddenly, surprising herself and blushing at her outburst. "You're such an amazing witch, anyone would be lucky to have you."

Ginny laughed. "Anyone you say?" she asked suggestively, arching an eyebrow and snaking an arm around Hermione's waist and pulling her in close.

"Ginerva Weasley! You're no different than that pervert brother of yours," Hermione chided, playfully dancing out of Ginny's grasp.

Ginny only smiled and leaned back on the counter again, pleased with Hermione's reaction.

"I really mean it Ginny, You have been so strong," said Hermione earnestly.

"Thanks Hermione, I know I'm pretty amazing," said Ginny confidently. "That's why I'm sure I can be with Harry. He'll give us another chance, you'll see. I just have to be patient."

Hermione blushed and smiled encouragingly at the younger girl. "I know he will," she said quietly. She couldn't help but feel an alien feeling of jealousy start to develop in her chest.

Harry certainly did deserve someone like Ginny, she thought but for some reason she was starting to feel possessive of the fiery girl standing in front of her.

She wanted to condemn Harry for ever physically abusing Ginny and forbidding them to ever be together again. Hermione's eyes widened as she realized with a resounding certainty that her feelings were a good bit past protectiveness and perhaps a bit shy of love. She felt positive now that she'd prefer Ginny's affections and devotion over her and Ron's awkward romance.

_Not that she'd have feelings for me the way she does for Harry_ Hermione reminded herself with a touch of realism. _Besides, leaving Ron for his sister? How could I do that to him?_ _I should just be alone, _thought Hermione grimly about her situation with Ron.

"Good bye Ginny, I'll be in touch," said Hermione, giving Ginny one last look over.

Ginny whined, "Aw, Hermione how can you leave me all alone like this? Please don't go," she said, looking as sad as she possibly could.

"Oh, alright. I'll stay just for a bit," said Hermione caving in.

"So it does work," said Ginny instantly smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh, bugger off," groaned Hermione, covering her reddening face with her right palm.

Ginny grinned and gave Hermione a salute as she turned to leave. "See you later Hermione,"

Hermione visited what felt like half of the shops on Diagon alley over the next couple hours, not quite sure what she was hoping to find. She managed to resist the temptation to stay at Flourish and Blotts for longer than necessary but couldn't help stopping by Scribbulus Writing Instruments for a new quill. Finding Harry himself would have been the most ideal of course, but she was also hoping she'd run into a familiar face who might have seen him as well. She finally decided to give up and head to the Minstry to inquire about Harry's whereabouts at Shaklebolt's office when she caught sight of a familiar raven haired witch.

"Hermione!" breathed Cho Chang, running up to hug the young brunette tightly. Hermione fidgeted uncomfortably at first but managed to hug the former Ravenclaw seeker back when she didn't let go. "Hey Cho, it's good to see you again," said Hermione earnestly. "Y-You can let go of me now."

The two had never been that close and it was awkward feeling the older girl's curves against her body when Harry had fancied her for so long. Hermione was reminded why when she couldn't help but notice how beautiful the ravenclaw was despite being on the verge of tears. Hermione was very greatful that girls were often so physically affectionate when she was around Ginny but realized that it didn't necessarily apply to everyone.

"Is something wrong Cho?" asked Hermione quietly. _There's no way Harry ran back to her just now is there?_

Cho glanced around fearfully. "C-Cant talk here. Can we go somewhere less crowded?" asked the raven hair beauty, leaning forward to whisper quietly into Hermione's ear. Hermione nodded dumbly and grabbed the ex seeker's hand, pulling her briskly towards a quiet alley way. Worries started to pile up in her mind as they typically did but she assured herself that she'd have answers very soon.

"Hermione, its so good to see you," rushed Cho anxiously, still glancing around nervously. Wizards and Witch's passed the alley way frequently and Hermione could tell after looking into Cho's eyes for a while that she must not have slept in a while.

"Don't worry Cho," said Hermione. "I cast a silence charm around us no one can hear what we're talking about except us."

Cho breathed a sigh of relief. "I-I don't know why I didn't think of that. You're so brilliant Hermione," Cho Chang visibly relaxed although it was still very apparent that she was stressed out. "I had to warn you…You have to tell Harry that he isn't safe."

"What?!" snapped Hermione, her eyes widening. This was beyond the scope of her expectations. "What is it? What's going on?" she asked urgently, fear and anxiety forming a tight knot in her stomach.

"My brother…Mark, he's back in London. Mum and Dad knew right away," said Cho quietly.

Hermione stared at Cho Chang blankly.

Cho Chang bit her lip and laughed weakly. "My brother…he's a dark wizard Hermione. He separated from our family in China and killed… many people. Anyways, right after Vo-You-know-who dies he decides to come back to London? Something big is going on… he wouldn't come back here unless it was something huge. He _hates_ it here."

Hermione didn't know what to make of this new information.

"You don't understand Hermione, he's really really powerful and very notorious in China. He's the shame of our family and the reason we moved back to London," whispered Cho anxiously. "He's not so evil that he'd kill his own family…I don't think…at least he wasn't then," Cho shuddered, fear showing in her eyes. "All I know is that he's always obsessed with the dark side of magic and I didn't know who to turn to when I found out he was back. I've been so scared Hermione," admitted the raven haired girl.

"It's…going to be okay Cho," assured Hermione, grabbing her hands and squeezing firmly. "I'm actually headed to Kingsley Shaklebolt's office and I'll let him know right away that there's a dark wizard in town. I'll make sure some Aurors get sent to protect you and your family right away."

Cho smiled weakly and nodded. "I'm sorry Hermione. I can't believe my luck running into you. I was actually hoping to find H-Harry," she said blushing. "I had to warn him… I'm afraid he might be in danger."

Hermione nodded and said goodbye to her former schoolmate after receiving another tight embrace from the Ravenclaw. "Always thought you'd have been good in our house," said Cho warmly as they went separate ways.

* * *

Harry panted heavily, his legs felt like they were burning from exhaustion but he forced himself onwards. "Why the bloody hell can't I apparate?" cursed Harry out of frustration. He figured that one of the death eaters chasing him had cast a anti-disapparation jinx like the one at Howarts but he found it hard to believe a wizard or witch that powerful was around. Harry flicked his wand towards the approaching death eaters, blasting the first one back fifteen or so feet right away.

He whispered a series of hexes under his breath as his hands blurred. The next couple of death eater's legs locked up and some of them froze, falling immobile on the spot. He had been tempted to throw some heavier hexes but when he was in a pinch, the same familiar spells he'd been using since the D.A. days were discharged the most efficiently. His familiar repertoire of spells no longer required Harry to yell the incantations out loud, saving him time when he wanted to cast them in quick succession. Harry ducked as a powerful spell blew over his head and jumped to the side as another one blew up the ground where he had been standing a moment before. There had be at least a dozen cloaked figures advancing at him and Harry realized that he was most likely doomed. _Bastards aren't getting me without a fight_ thought Harry darkly as he readied his wand.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ shouted a nearby Death Eater. Harry muttered a counter curse and rapidly conjured as many shields as he could remember off the top of his head. The spell harmlessly bounced off his shield, damaging it. The first shield soaked up a few more spells before shattering and Harry urgently conjured it again, backing off slowly. He sorely wished Hermione was here, between the two of them this lot shouldn't be a problem.

"Expecto Patronum," Harry shouted as he conjured his patronus. "Cornered by Death eaters near the Shell Cottage, about 12 of them. 10'o clock Saturday," he said urgently before his patronum galloped off, knocking a few Death Eaters off their feet as it blew past them.

There was something wrong, the death eaters had stopped advancing. Harry almost considered that they would back off and leave him alone but he didn't expect his luck to be that good. _Damn it, I just had to go off on my own and get caught like this, _Harry berated himself angrily.

_I hope Bill and Fleur are _okay he thought worriedly, giving the Shell Cottage a nervous glance. If he had finished his exams at Hogwarts and went back to Grimmauld Place, he wouldn't have gotten into this mess.

The Death Eaters shifted to either side as two cloaked figures wearing different robes than the others apparated into their midst. Slowly the anonymous Death eaters backed away as the two new arrivals advanced towards him. Harry cursed and cast as many jinxes as fast as he could but the cloaked figure to his right jumped in front of the other and blocked them easily.

The ground around the two cloaked figures exploded as the force of Harry's spells blew up the nearby terrain, his spells dangerously ricocheting off of the closest cloaked figure's shield. The cloaked figure drew his hood back revealing a handsome Asian man with long dark hair tied back in a pony tail. He clapped, slowly and deliberately as he approached Harry.

"Harry Potter, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," he said in a thick English accent. There was something unsettling about the Asian wizard's silver eyes. "Mark Chang," he introduced himself. The stranger's hands blurred and a wand appeared in each of his hands and Harry realized for the first time that the man standing in front of him had conjured a shield to block several of his spells without using a wand or incantations.

Harry cursed and backed away, pointing his wand at the Wizard standing in front of him.

"Don't be afraid Harry, we don't want to _kill you," _said Mark in a friendly voice. Harry frowned, finding the man's voice oddly normal sounding for the situation they were in. "It'll be with your free will after all when you decide to join us,"

Harry laughed aloud, despite the fear wrenching his insides he was still filled with familiar courage in the face of danger. "Join you? Are you mad?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Oh yes, there will be a time when you come to me of your own accord Harry," said Mark with a sneer.

Harry flicked his wand quickly, "_petrificus totalus_!" Mark instantly raised a shield but the force of Harry's spell knocked him back several yards, forcing him to dig his feet into the sand.

"He's a brilliant wizard, so much potential," complimented Mark grinning. "It was worth the travel to meet this one Alice," he said to the cloaked witch standing behind him.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the one called Alice but couldn't make out any of her features under her black hood. "Get away from me, I'm warning you," threatened Harry pointing his wand at Alice. Mark only looked amused and stepped aside. "Go ahead Harry, I'm sure she wants a go at you as well...do go easy on him would you Alice?"

Harry blinked, realizing that the witch had somehow disappeared from where she was standing. He turned a little too slowly and briefly glimpsed the metal gauntlet rushing towards his face before dropping to his knees, his head still ringing from the blow.

"Quick isn't she?" he heard Mark saying as he struggled to retain his consciousness. Alice stood above him with her hands on her hips, long blonde hair flowing around her from the ocean breeze. Her thin arms were covered extensively in magic rune tatoos and ended in heavy metal gauntlets. Harry could see a rather strange looking wand tucked into her utility belt.

What surprised him the most was the muggle guns strapped to holsters wrapped around her waist. Harry scrambled to his feet, panic settling in as he realized blood was freely pouring from a gash on his temple. _She can't be much older than me, _thought Harry as he struggled to discern the girl's features. She had a oval face and large doll like eyes with long lashes, a psychotic grin of excitement on her face. She would be attractive if she didn't look so crazy thought Harry. The boy's head rang terribly and his vision was starting to blur but he was determined to see it through to the end...

* * *

AN: more to come


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: This story will eventually center around HG/GW but I have to get a few plot elements out of the way first**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"I'm sorry Hermione, I'm afraid I don't know anything about Harry's whereabouts," said the towering Auror Kingsley Shaklebolt. He sat in his Auror office upon a luxurious chair engraved with magical runes, many of which Hermione recognized. Hermione didn't think sitting behind a desk and flipping through paperwork suited the dark skinned man, but it seemed these days he was more needed here in the Ministry then out in the field. The brunette witch had been seated in Shaklebolt's office a few minutes ago and had been served tea to boot by a secretary who seemed rather star struck by her.

"I can tell you however," he continued, "that if Potter is indeed truly missing, then there may be cause for alarm. There have been a startling number of incidences in the area as of late - It's the most activity we've had to deal with since Voldemort's return." The veteran Auror gave Hermione a sad smile, noticing the young woman's displeased expression. "I'm afraid to say that the worst of it isn't over yet, my dear. You must exercise the utmost caution from here on out."

"Thank you for seeing me sir, and I will be careful," said Hermione, taking in Shaklebolt's words with a heavy heart. Hermione was about to stand up when she remembered her conversation with Cho Chang. She slowly eased back into her seat. "Excuse me sir, would you happen to know a wizard by the name of Mark Chang? I've heard that he's back in London."

"Mark Chang in London?" asked Shaklebolt incredulously, trying to mask the hint of excitement in his voice. There was an unreadable expression on the powerful Auror's face as he folded his arms across his muscular chest.

"Who is Mark Chang if you don't mind me asking sir?" asked Hermione politely.

"Dangerous man. The auror's department always had a hard time with him – was rather relieved myself when we found out he was sighted in China. Always wished I had the chance to lock up that nutcase and now I do," said the Auror rubbing his hands together. "His return may explain some of the happenings going around as well," he added darkly.

Hermione sat silently knowing there had to be more and after glancing over the young witch carefully, Shaklebolt continued.

"He's a dangerous one though, highly skilled. He was a first year at Hogwarts when I was about to graduate myself. I didn't know much about him until after he graduated and got involved in the murder of some Muggles in Merton. Besides being brilliant, which he always was, he was a particularly dangerous innovator of time magic."

Hermione frowned. "What do you mean sir?"

"Well," began Shaklebolt, "You must know Hermione, that I only choose to divulge this information to you because I personally trust you. In the wrong hands, even this small amount of information I am about to reveal to you is incredibly dangerous."

Hermione nodded solemly.

"Mark Chang is particularly dangerous because he was brilliant at a very, very difficult branch of magic…You know personally the dangerous of time travel, don't you Hermione?"

The young witch nodded recalling her experiences with the time turner and all of the warnings she had received her third year at Hogwarts.

"Time magic takes an incredibly long time to prepare normally. It requires many hours and precise incantations to achieve the proper results... Mark is just a natural when it comes to time magic and trust me, there aren't very many of his type out there. What's perhaps the most dangerous is that he's not so interested in going back in time but slowing it down instead. Ten years ago, he was able to slow time to a certain extent…within a certain range. Once you're in his time field, to him at least, everyone appears to be standing very still."

Hermione nodded immediately understanding the implications.

"He could defeat a number of formidable opponents without any effort… it'd be like killing them in their sleep," said Hermione horrified.

Kingsley nodded solemly. "That is precisely the danger when dealing with Mark Chang. Murder, theft, whatever other heinous crimes he desires to commit… once he is a certain distance from you it is very difficult to stop him from doing as he pleases. Still, even for him, time magic takes a while to incant properly... he is only human and I am sure we can devise a way to defeat or kill him." The Auror rubbed his hands together again and sighed, leaning back in his chair. "He was a powerful wizard back then, I can only imagine how dangerous he has become."

"If you don't mind me asking, could you spare an Auror to watch over Cho Chang and her family?" asked Hermione, thinking of the Ravenclaw's exhausted face from earlier.

"I will certainly do so," said Kingsley. "It is imperative that we watch the Chang family for clues on the whereabouts of Mark now that you have brought it to my attention. Good luck Hermione, I hope you find Harry soon. Do me a favor and let me know when you both are safe will you?"

"Yes sir," responded Hermione, standing and giving the auror a polite nod. "Take care then, until next time," she said in a friendly tone as she turned to leave. Shaklebolt smiled and gave Hermione a small bow with his upper body as she walked briskly out of his office.

Hermione found herself worrying about Harry more than ever as she strode towards the floo powder network. She hoped Ron had better luck than her and considered looking for him at the Burrow. The brunette felt her heart flutter as she suddenly thought of Ginny's playful flirting from earlier and blushed, wondering if she was off her shift. _Focus Hermione, what in Merlin's name is wrong with you? _she berated herself as she grabbed a handful of silvery floo powder. Still, she had no other leads and resolutely said "The Burrow," disappearing in a blaze of magical fire.

* * *

Alice giggled uncontrollably. "Do it Harry," she said excitedly, jumping up and down. She grabbed Harry's wrist and aimed his wand at her heart, the claws on her gauntleted hands digging into his skin and drawing blood. "I want to know how it feels," she breathed, her actions and facial expressions were all filled with youthful mannerisms. Harry didn't know what to make of the girl other than the fact that she was an American judging by her accent and clearly nutters.

Blood matted the side of his face and he could feel himself getting woozy - but he managed to cast a particularly powerful body binding charm at the young witch.

Harry screamed in pain as Alice dug her metal nails into his skin, ripping flesh and causing blood to seep from new wounds uncontrollably as the spell blasted her backwards. The pain was maddening but he was relieved to see that his spell had impacted the witch.

She lay on the ground, wild eyes staring at Harry through the strands of blonde hair that had fallen over her face.

Harry frowned as the blonde girl started to convulse as if fighting off the effects of his body binding curse, a smile frozen on her lips.

The tattoos on her arms suddenly started to move, whirling around over her skin and traveling throughout her body. Alice whimpered in pain and slowly sat up, shaking off the effects of Harry's curse with ancient runes still traveling slowly across her pleased expression.

"That's impossible," breathed Harry, nearly falling over from the pounding pain in his skull.

"Harry P, H. Potter," muttered Alice nonsensically as she struggled to her feet. The runes patterns started to travel away from her face and neck, winding down along the length of her arm. "That was a wicked powerful spell you cast there...used up about forty percent of my rune power to block one spell!" She smiled, deceivingly appearing sane for the moment. "I want to play more," she said, her voice full of longing. The strange girl reached down to grab the handle of her wand, drawing it slowly.

The Asian wizard watching these events gave a hand signal to Alice and she pouted before obediently returning to his side, raising her hood once again. "Come on Mark! We were just getting started," she snarled through gritted teeth. Mark simply ignored her and approached Harry.

"I can teach you how to be more powerful than you have ever imagined," began Mark Chang walking steadily towards the injured Harry. "You have so much potential Harry, you could be greater than even Dumbledore." Mark said, eyes flashing in excitement. "I've wanted to see your potential for myself and couldn't resist dropping by. You haven't disappointed me Harry," said Mark sincerely. "I'm not with those scum," he added, gesturing towards the anonymous Death Eaters who still maintained a respectable distance from the battle. "Why don't you come with me?"

"Never," spat Harry, "Why don't you just kill me?" He was speaking bravely but his mind was racing wildly. He really hoped his patronus found Ron or Hermione before it was too late.

"Alice is one of my students you know - she fancies you quite a bit - I think," said Mark smiling. He seemed normal on the exterior but Harry could tell deep inside that the man standing before him was evil. Harry could barely make out Alice's eyes under her hood but she was smiling at him from behind Mark's shoulder. "Oh well, I guess I didn't expect you to trust me right away. Let me assure you, not all of us so called dark wizards are bad. I like to think that we are instead simply misunderstood... What's wrong with experimenting with magic a little?" Something in the way he spoke reminded Harry strongly of Tom Riddle's diary form from his second year at Hogwarts. Mark glanced back at the crowd of Death Eaters standing behind him. "How about, as a sign of good faith, I take care of those Death Eaters for you?" Harry glared, unable to find any words to say.

"Alice? If you will," commanded Mark glancing down at the young blonde at his side.

Alice nodded and turned towards the Death Eaters, her back to Harry. She quickly grasped the muggle pistols on her belt, her cloak flying open and leveled them at the crowd, open firing right away.

The noise was unlike anything Harry had ever heard, a loud whining noise emitted from each of the pistols as empty casings ejected from the two pistols at an impossibly fast rate... as if they were machine guns. The storm of bullets momentarily blacked out his vision of the Death Eaters but he could hear their anguished cries through the loud whine of Alice's pistols. The hero stumbled briefly, failing to find his balance before falling on his back, his horrified face fixed on where the Death Eaters had been standing.

"Oh, it looks like one survived. Oh well, I'm sure you can handle one lousy opponent can't you Harry?" said Mark lazily, eyeing a wounded Death Eater who had the reflexes to shield his vital organs before the storm of bullets began.

"Do let me know if you change your mind," said Mark, shrugging exaggeratedly and wrapping an arm around his apprentice. The pair side-along disapparated leaving Harry to deal with the lone surviving Death Eater but not before Harry got a glimpse of Alice's hungry eyes on him.

Harry cringed, his vision starting to go black but he held on to his consciousness, tightly gripping his wand and gathering his strength for a final show down. _Ginny...Ron...Hermione_ he desperately wanted to make it back to them and he held on to that feeling, drawing strength from it. He chanted their names in his head - fighting back the darkness that threatened to over take him.

* * *

"Ron! What are you doing home?" asked Ginny as she entered the Burrow.

The red headed keeper was sitting at the table conversing with George about something over a cup of tea. The brothers grinned at Ginny, both seeming pleased to see her. "Hey there Ginny, welcome home," said George. "Welcome home dear," called Molly Weasley from upstairs. "I'll be down in a minute,"

"Morning shift wasn't too terrible I hope?" asked George smiling brightly at his only sister.

"It was fun," said Ginny smiling widely for a moment before catching her mistake. "No, I mean it was terrible. Seriously I am never making bets with you again George!" Ginny replied, making a face at her brother.

"I heard Hermione Granger came by the shop today, that can't be the reason why ...can it?" asked George inquisitively. Ginny pressed her lips together thinly, making a mental note to be more careful with her words and actions around her favorite brother. He was devilishly intuitive and she couldn't risk anybody finding out about her confusing feelings for the brunette witch.

"Hermione was at your shop today?" inquired Ron elbowing George roughly. Luckily for Ginny, Ron was about as intuitive as a rock. "You didn't tell me that. How did you know that anyways? You've been home all day haven't you?"

"Well, I have my ways - cost you a galeon to find out," offered George, knowing Ron would not accept.

"Bugger that, you never tell me anything George," complained Ron.

Ginny sighed and sat down wearily at the table across from Ron and George. "I am tired though, you should really pay your dear sister instead of slaving her at your shop for free."

George looked at her incredulously. "Pay you? Why, you couldn't pay me to do that."

Ginny leaned over and punched George as hard as she could on his shoulder but he only grinned, pretending to be gravely injured.

"Oh, I'm dying Ron. Take my business when I pass away will you? And don't pay this murdering witch a cent!"

Ginny made a face and _accio'_d a teacup from the sink. Ron kindly filled her cup from the kettle and sighed leaning back.

"What's mom doing?" asked Ginny glancing at the staircase questioningly and taking a sip of warm tea.

"She's been cleaning the house all day, the woman's on a bloody rampage," said George fearfully. "I reckon I should move out soon."

"No!" shouted Ginny a little more passionately then she would have liked. "Stay with us George, I'll be miserable without you," pleaded the red haired girl.

George smiled and thought of cracking a joke but Ginny's emotions showed in her voice and he thought better of it. "Alright Gin, whatever you want."

There was an awkward silence at the table for a few moments, each of the Weasley siblings trying to come up with something to break the unnatural silence.

"Harry's still missing...I've been asking George if he had any useful inventions to track him down," explained Ron after a while, studying Ginny's expression carefully.

Ginny swallowed and nodded meekly. "It's alright Ron, I'm fine. You can talk about it with me."

Ron shrugged and continued, "Well, George figures the spell work for a tracking charm is not difficult in itself but we can't do it unless we have him around in the first place. I can't think of any other way to find him except maybe send an owl after him and fly after it on broomstick."

Ginny wondered if that could work and decided in her mind that it was a bad idea with _their_ owl anyways. She never thought about how it was owls always seemed to find their target destination so effectively when wizards and witch's apparated this way and that all the time. _Poor things_.

"Well, I guess I better head out. I need to find Harry as soon as possible - Hermione'd probably have my head for wasting as much time as I have here," said Ron.

George glanced at Ron and nodded, "Good luck little brother, terribly sorry that I couldn't have been more helpful." George yawned and stretched his arms, standing up to retire to his room. "I do hope Harry's alright," he added as he headed towards the stairs.

"I'll see you out," said Ginny quickly, taking a sip of tea and pushing her feet against the ground to push her chair back. She stood and headed towards the door after Ron. Ron opened the door and froze.

Ginny Weasley blinked in disbelief. "Cornered by Death Eaters near the Shell Cottage, about 12 of them. 10'o clock Saturday," came Harry's voice from the silver patronus before it disappeared completely. "Shell Cottage?" I was bloody going there next after here, Merlin I hope I'm not too late," cried Ron as he broke into a run.

Ginny apparated to the Shell cottage without a moment of hesitation, starting to run as soon as she felt solid ground on her feet. Somewhere behind her she distinctly heard Ron apparating after her. "Harry!" she cried out in desperation, fear taking control of her senses. The young chaser glanced around the beach, immediately noticing a dark hooded figure struggling to stand. In the distance, she glimpsed Harry's body kneeling in the sand.

"Harry no!" Ginny cried, drawing her wand and hexing the Death Eater. The force of her spell struck the man squarely in the back of the head and he bowled over amidst a sea of black robes. _Bloody_ _Hell_ thought Ginny noticing all of the bodies lying in the sand before her. Ginny cast another immobilizing curse at the now prone body of the Death Eater and before she knew it, her feet was taking her to Harry in a full sprint.

Ron ran doggedly after her upon seeing Harry's still form. "Harry! Are you alright mate?" he shouted as he ran, concern making his voice a few octaves higher than normal. Ginny slid on her knees over the sand as she neared Harry, glancing at his face in concern.

"Harry, are you okay? I'm here," Ginny embraced her ex boyfriend gingerly, so many emotions rushing into her as she took into account his many wounds. "Ginny," whispered Harry. "I…I'm sorry," he managed before collapsing into her arms.

Ron stood over them in shock. "Did he take all those Death Eaters on his own?" he asked in disbelief, slowly kneeling to check Harry's pulse. He gently snaked his arm over Ginny's shoulder to feel Harry's jugular artery. "He's alive, thank Merlin," breathed Ron nervously. "Come on Gin, we've got to get him some medical treatment," said Ron, starting to rip the fabric of his shirt.

The red headed keeper took strips of his shirt and tied it around Harry's bloody wrist, wincing as the blood instantly soaked through the material. "Is he gonna make it?" asked a tearful Ginny, holding back her sobs. Ginny buried her face in Harry's neck and blinked furiously as she felt herself cry. She didn't know how she could hurt so much and feel so empty at the same time.

Ron patted Ginny's head. "Of course he will. Come on Gin, get out of the way let's lay him on his back." Ginny nodded, moving back a few inches and sat on her heels, eyes still glassy with tears. "Go back to the burrow and get mum will you?" said Ron, hastily applying another fabric bandage to Harry's wrist.

Ginny nodded and quickly disapparated back to the burrow.

* * *

"What were you thinking Mark? Are you trying to start a war?" hissed the cloaked raven haired witch, standing and knocking her chair over as Mark apparated into the room. "Relax Cassandra, I was only greeting our young lord. You can't blame me for being a little eager can you?"

The corpse-like beauty frowned angrily. "You killed some of Malfoy's men. We still need their cooperation for our plan to succeed you idiot."

Mark waved his hand dismissingly. "Pathetic and useless the lot of them. I wouldn't have been surprised if Harry defeated them on his own."

"It doesn't change the fact that you have no business killing our men. In case you haven't noticed we're the foreigners here... we can't have everyone in London trying to kill us. I'll kill you and your little pet if you act out of line again."

Cassandra found herself up against the wall, her hands clasping Mark's right wrist as he slammed her head violently against the wall while gripping her neck like a vice.

"Let me remind you that it's not your place to threaten me Cassandra Malicen," said Mark darkly, his eyes narrowing threateningly. "Besides, I may have been in China but I was born here in England. Trust me, i have no qualms killing anybody from this corrupted society."

The corpse like woman smiled and Mark found himself thrown across the room, the skin on his hand slowly starting to melt - pain receptors going crazy as bones and muscles became exposed. Mark shot to his feet and drew both his wands from his cloak despite the pain in his right hand and aimed them at the witch in front of him.

Cassandra drew her own wand from the bosom of her breasts, golden energy sparkling from the tip of her wand. She grinned maniacally, her lips curling into an unnatural smile full of teeth.

"You can't take both me and Caster. We'll kill you if we have to," said the dark haired witch, golden eyes flashing angrily. "Leave the next phase of the plan to us, in the mean time have some patience."

Mark narrowed his eyes at his long time colleague and finally put away his wands. He wasn't sure if he could kill Cassandra without becoming badly injured, at least not when she was prepared for him. She knew the pattern of his time field invoke too well, against an opponent of her caliber he wasn't sure if he could bide enough time to finish casting it. He flicked off the witch with his injured hand, bone and muscle glistening in the illumination of Cassandra's wand. "I'm going to have Alice heal this up, and I suppose I can manage to be a little more patient," said Mark finally, lessening his glare. "Don't threaten me again or I won't hesitate to kill you next time," promised Mark as he drew his cloak around his shoulders and walked away.

* * *

Hermione found herself in the fireplace of the Burrow and dusted her clothes off. "Hello? Is anybody home?" she called.

"Hello dear, Hermione, it's so good to see you..," said Molly Weasley as she descended down the stairs. "You just missed Ron, he just apparated away...He's...at the Shell Cottage it seems," said Molly glancing at their handy magical clock. "Oh, Ginny's there too."

Hermione glanced at the clock and nodded. "Oh well, I guess I'll head over there then. I need to talk to Ron about something..."

"Do come back for dinner later dear, we'd love to have you," said Molly Weasley kindly, wrapping Hermione into a warm hug. "Oh, I do hope you and Ron settle down soon. I would really enjoy having some grandchildren running around the house."

Hermione blushed furiously. "M-Mrs. Weasley!"

"Call me Molly dear, we've been a family for long enough," said Molly kindly, giving the young witch a friendly wink. Hermione nodded meekly and was about to leave when Ginny burst through the door, tears running down her face.

Hermione felt her heart ignite at the sight of the beautiful red head crying and she involuntarily rushed to Ginny, holding the thin girl's arms and staring into her eyes with concern.

Ginny looked surprised to see her and stared into Hermione's eyes blankly for a moment before snapping out of it and looking directly at her mother.

"Mom, its Harry...he's hurt - Shell Cottage- we've got to hurry."

Molly understood the seriousness of the situation at once and barreled out the front door past the two girls, apparating right away.

"T-They should be back soon," said Ginny, stumbling past Hermione and collapsing at the table. The young Weasley buried her face in her arms and didn't move, her thin athletic body heaving with emotion. Hermione felt her heart breaking as Ginny began to sob quietly, her body shaking. The brunette caught sight of George coming down the stairs, his eyes full of worry. "What's going on?" he asked loudly, approaching Hermione. "What's wrong with Ginny?"

Hermione stared at the back of Ginny's head for a moment, feeling torn. She wanted to be here to comfort Ginny but she also felt as if she had to go check on Harry's status right away. "They've found Harry," responded Hermione after a few moments. Hermione tore herself away and sprinted out the door. She pictured Shell Cottage in her mind as the scenery started to blur around her. With a poof, she vanished from the Burrow.

* * *

Closing notes: Please review. I am going to enter a period of revision to reduce grammar errors and iron out some plot elements. Then I'll decide how to continue from here. Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Went through a lot of trouble going back the past few days, revising sentences and adding more content to make things more canon. It may not be substantial but if you really enjoy this story, I recommend going back and skimming through the new content. I personally dislike OC's, but I felt that they were necessary for this particular story. Enjoy :) **

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"He's going to be fine," announced Molly Weasley to the anxious crowd of people waiting in the living room. "Nasty cut on his wrist but a little dittany did the trick. We should just let him sleep for the time being," finished Molly, putting away the remaining medical supplies.

"Can I see him mom?" asked Ginny anxiously, wringing her hands together. "Of course dear, be careful not to wake him though, although I doubt you could if you tried," said Molly wearily, joining everyone at the large table in the Burrow's living room.

Hermione watched Ginny timidly walking into Harry's room and sighed, feeling conflicted about everything that had happened. She was foremost relieved that Harry was safe... after weeks of worrying he was finally tangible and 'going to be fine'. She didn't suspect anyone else noticed but there were many muggle bullet casings littering the beach and many of the Death Eaters had been disfigured beyond recognition. Wizards did not use muggle weapons as far as she knew so the circumstances were highly suspicious. Ginny had mentioned that she had hexed a Death Eater when she arrived at the scene but he mysteriously vanished before they could check on him... nothing was adding up. Not only were the circumstances suspicious, she had to struggle with an unreasonable jealousy at the concern shining in Ginny's eyes for Harry. She also couldn't help being angry at Harry for the pain and grief he had put them through, not to mention what he had done to Ginny.

"Bloody mess this is," said Ron, wrapping an arm around Hermione. Hermione nodded and leaned against Ron's shoulder, staring blankly at the surface of the table. She had meant to talk to Ron about putting their relationship on hold for the time being but it was hardly the time to break the news to him. They had finally recovered Harry and she didn't imagine Molly would take the news very well.

"Please, stay for the night Hermione. You can sleep in Ginny's room if you'd like," offered Molly, absent mindedly preparing tea in the kitchen.

"Could stay in my room if you'd like," offered Ron trying to catch Hermione's eyes. "We are dating now after all," he said quietly to her.

"I heard that Ron Weasley. Absolutely not in my house ," replied Molly Weasley instantly with a tut. "I do trust you dear but I think it's best if you sleep in separate rooms for the time being."

"Y-Yes of course Molly," replied Hermione turning crimson. She elbowed Ron harshly and glared at him for creating such an awkward situation.

"I need to talk to you about Ginny," whispered Ron into her ear and Hermione nodded slightly before turning her attention back to the conversation between Bill, Arthur and George.

"Death Eaters at Shell Cottage, I can't believe it," Bill was saying. "I wish me and Fleur were there to help, but we were out on Ministry business."

"Couldn't help it, let's just be happy that no one got seriously hurt. A few more Death Eaters are out of the picture as well."

"Tatiana Finnigin, I can't believe she was one of them," George said sadly. "She was my year, Fred always used to say she was a wicked chaser."

Ron pulled Hermione away into a quiet corridor and kissed her gently on the lips. "Hermione, why don't you just stay in my room tonight? Mum won't have to know, we could get a cuddle in."

Hermione shook her head furiously. "No, Ron! It''s not proper," she responded trying not to scowl. "I'd be more comfortable if your mum didn't think anything was going on between us in her house!"

"Yeah, well I thought I'd warn you. Ginny plays for both teams," said Ron with an annoyed expression on his face. "As in she fancies girls as well as guys," he added when Hermione just stared at him dumbly. "Just thought I'd warn you about...you know, if you have to get changed and stuff in front of her,"

"What?!" exclaimed Hermione in disbelief. "She does? How do you know?"

"Heard she was caught snogging Katie Bell in the girls locker room after a quidditch match last year," mumbled Ron grimly. "Can you imagine? Her and Katie Bell. Snogging. You know, the year we went off hunting horcruxes. I'm not saying I don't trust you with her - she loves Harry after all, I'd be blind as a bat if I couldn't see that. I just wanted you to know,"

"Y-yea, don't worry everything will be fine," responded Hermione with a tinge of red showing in her cheeks. "Me and Ginny have been friends for ages, s-she couldn't think that way about me,"

"I don't know," responded Ron. "I've caught her staring at you a few times,"

"Y-you have?" asked Hermione incredulously. "When?" she grimaced suddenly, realizing that she sounded suspiciously excited about the news.

"I dunno, for ages now I guess, I mean she fancies Harry now doesn't she?" Ron asked, feeling a bit unsure of himself.

"Of course she does, are you mental?" asked Hermione in disbelief. "She's a complete mess over Harry, you saw her face didn't you?"

"No need to raise your voice Hermione, blimey, I was only just saying," muttered Ron. "And there's something strange about the way you're acting. You're always pushing me away these days."

"Let's not fight now," groaned Hermione, looking away from the red head's accusing eyes. "I've got a headache."

"Well, you've always got a headache haven't you? When are we ever going to be able to properly talk about us? Every time I try to make a move on you, you push me away. What am I supposed to think?" asked Ron venomously. "Do you even love me Hermione Granger?"

"Ron, not now," repeated Hermione quietly. "I-I don't know what I think."

"I knew it!" shouted Ron. "I knew there was something funny...I've never dated a girl who didn't like snogging."

"Ron, I do like you. I've liked you for years you know that!" responded Hermione wearily. "And we do kiss from time to time, why can't we just take this slowly? I do care about you."

"Well, you have a bloody interesting way of showing it," responded Ron hotly. "I'm sorry okay, I'm sorry I left you that night when you and Harry were looking for horcruxes. I know you're still holding that over me."

"What?!" shouted Hermione in disbelief. "I forgave you for that ages ago, Ron. How spiteful do you think I am?"

"You're a bloody liar, I can see it in your eyes. You've never forgiven me for that have you?You used to be so good to me...and passionate. Ever since that bloody horcrux you can't see me the same can you? It's been ages since then and you still refuse to go past first base with me!"

"No Ron, that's not what this is about, I'm just not ready for all that!" replied Hermione tersely. "Please, give it a rest will you Ron? We just need time to sort our feelings out."

"Sort our feelings out? I think I've waited long enough don't you? I know what my feelings are Hermione. You're the one that can't sort yourself out...I've waited, believe me. Patiently I might add. I can't bloody go on like this."

Hermione felt herself tearing up. She had been considering taking a break from their relationship for a while but now that it was actually happening, she felt desperate to keep their relationship the way it had been. It wasn't perfect but she had been content with the way it was. "You're doing this to me now?" asked Hermione in disbelief.

"Prove it to me then," said Ron quietly.

"What?" asked Hermione, her eyes narrowing at Ron causing tears to slowly course down her cheeks. "How? I've stayed by your side, I've been there for you all this time...what do you want me to prove?"

"Go all the way with me," said Ron sternly. "To you know...prove you're attracted to me. We're more than past that age Hermione. I need to know that you truly want to be with me."

"Ron, why can't we just have a chaste relationship? Is there something wrong with wanting to stay pure?" asked Hermione, backing away from Ron slowly.

"Hermione. You're driving me mental...You don't know how much I want you. You don't know how hard it is to control myself around you, blimey. You're so beautiful Hermione. You can't possibly expect me to-"

"Ronald Weasley, being in a relationship is not just about...sex!" hissed Hermione angrily, more tears coming to her eyes. "I thought you were better than this Ron,"

"It's not just sex, you don't even enjoying snogging anymore. You're completely turned off to me," responded Ron heatedly. "What did I do to deserve this? I've been nothing but a perfect boyfriend to you."

"I-I don't know," sighed Hermione, finding herself trapped. "I don't understand it myself honestly."

Ron sighed, feeling his anger slowly start to dissipate. "Blimey, I'm sorry Hermione. I totally lost control there," he said quietly. "I didn't mean for it to get like this."

"No, it's okay Ron. It's all my fault, I'm sorry," said Hermione starting to break down and cry. "I'm a terrible girlfriend...you must hate me," she sobbed.

Ron shook his head and embraced Hermione tightly, letting her cry on his shoulder. "There there...its okay," he said reassuringly. Seeing Hermione cry like this broke down every wall that he had, he felt all the anger, resentment, and bitterness leave his body and slowly become replaced by compassion.

"I'm such a terrible girlfriend...I'm such a terrible girlfriend..." sobbed Hermione, repeating it over and over and gripping the fabric of Ron's shirt tightly.

"No, you're great. Honestly," said Ron with wide eyes. The red headed wizard hadn't seen this coming at all, Hermione Granger having a complete break down was the last thing he expected.

"You can do what you want to me," said Hermione quietly with tears glistening in her eyes, her body shaking against his. "I won't complain," she said meekly, looking up into Ron's eyes causing the young wizard to stiffen considerably.

"I-I won't make you do anything you don't want to do," said Ron finally with a heavy sigh. He pulled away from Hermione and looked at her with sad eyes. "Come on now, it's going to be okay," he said reassuringly, reaching towards her face to wipe the tears from her eyes with the fabric of his dress shirt.

Hermione nodded dumbly, trying to figure out why she had fallen apart the way she did. Something he said triggered all of her guilt and confusion and made her feel horrid for being so hesitant about taking the next step with him. "It's just that, I don't know. I don't know, I just can't go through with it," she said, honestly conveying her feelings to the quiet red head. "I'm just not physically attracted to you anymore, or maybe it's a mental thing. Maybe I can just tell we won't be happy in the long run because we're too set in our ways to adapt to each other. You've been good to me Ron, but when you kiss me I just feel empty...you know?"

Ron shook his head looking exasperated. "No I don't know Hermione...but, I guess I'm glad you came out and said it finally. I knew something had to be wrong. This is good, we need to communicate...Don't worry Hermione, just take your time. You'll come around I bet you anything."

Hermione sighed, wiping her tears with her sleeves and nodded, staring down at the Gryffindor emblem on Ron's shirt.

"And if you can't be happy with me, go find someone else," said Ron at last.

Hermione looked up and felt another wave of guilt when she saw the pain in Ron's eyes.

"I want you to be happy Hermione, that's the most important thing to me. I thought we could be happy with each other but I guess not," said Ron. "After Voldemort, after losing so many friends and classmates, we both deserve to be happy. I won't hold you back."

Hermione stifled a sob and grabbed Ron's shirt as he turned to go. She wanted to beg him to stay but no words came out. "It's alright, let go Hermione," said Ron quietly. Hermione met Ron's eyes and felt her heart contract painfully. This was the man she wanted for so long, and he was so miserable now because of her. She didn't feel as if she could forgive herself for what she'd done. "I just wanted to say that...you were really cool just now Ron," said Hermione, grabbing his hand and squeezing gently. "That's the man I fell in love with all those years ago,"

Ron smiled. "Hey, I'm perfectly capable of being reasonable from time to time, not to mention...'cool'...Anyways, what now? Are we officially over?"

Hermione tightened her grip on Ron's hand and looked up at him with wide eyes. "I don't want us to be over," she said honestly, biting her lower lip. "Your friendship means too much to me Ron,"

Ron smiled sadly. "Friends...that explains it. That's why you love me but don't want to snog me Hermione, you don't love me the way I love you,"

"I'm such an idiot Ron, this is all my fault," groaned Hermione realizing the truth in Ron's words.

"I can't believe it escalated to this," said Ron in disbelief. "I was just trying to warn you about Ginny when this all started." He laughed bitterly but squeezed Hermione's hand affectionately. "I don't know if I can stop loving you Hermione, you've really done a number on me. I'll give you your space if you want. If you want to start over and try this again...well, you know where to find me. Your friendship means a lot to me too...you've saved my life countless times and I love you...I love you so much," said Ron, clearly struggling internally and choosing each word deliberately and carefully. "It's not your fault, you tried your best I could tell..."

Hermione nodded sadly and finally let go of Ron's hand, her face downcast and angled down towards the ground. "I'm sorry," said Hermione quietly, "You were a brilliant boyfriend. The best I've ever had...and I'm the most terrible person that I know. I won't forgive myself for this."

"The most terrible person you know? For not putting out?" Ron chuckled, "Makes me sound like a proper scum bag it does. Don't be so dramatic Hermione, It's going to take time but I'll be okay...Just tell me one thing,"

"What is it?" asked Hermione softly, forcing herself to look up at Ron.

"It's Harry isn't it? Just be honest, you've gone completely mental worrying about him - don't think I can't see it," he said sadly.

Hermione shook her head, tempted to laugh but she was too devoid of cheer to even chuckle. She felt like a dementor had latched onto her, waves of guilt and heartbreak crashing into her. "No, it's not Harry," she promised.

Ron simply shrugged. "I'm over that now...at least my two best mates would be happy. You know, I figure the reason Harry broke it off with Ginny was because he loves you. I don't know how he couldn't be attracted to you after all the years we spent together. You're a brilliant, beautiful witch Hermione."

"Ron! It's not Harry," repeated Hermione heatedly. "Why does everybody always think me and Harry have a thing? I love him like the brother I've never had...and I love him very very much but it doesn't mean I find him attractive that way."

"You're always going off throwing your arms around him and sharing these _looks..._You both deny it but I still find it hard to believe," said Ron, pain filling his voice. "Besides, that's the thing. You don't know what it's like to have a brother...just be honest with yourselves. I made my peace with it, if you want to be with Harry then I give you ...my blessing...He's a good man and you two are perfect for each other."

"No...I think...I suspect I might be like Ginny," said Hermione finally. "I think I might fancy girls," she clarified looking away from Ron fearful of what he might say.

"You're kidding me?" asked Ron incredulously. "Well, that ...also explains things I have to admit. You got someone in mind?"

Hermione shook her head quickly. "No...I'm still not certain...I haven't cheated on you," promised Hermione desperately. "Please Ron, you have to believe me. I would never..."

"I didn't think you did Hermione," said Ron shortly. He sighed heavily and suddenly whipped around, punching the wall with all his strength. Hermione stifled a scream of surprise and jumped, staring at the large hole that appeared where Ron's fist made contact.

"FUCK, BLOODY FUCKING HELL" screamed Ron at the top of his lungs. "Sorry Hermione, FUCK!" Ron drew his fist back and punched the wall again making another large hole. He heaved violently and kicked the wall with all his strength. "Merlin's beard. I'm sorry for that," he apologized again as he turned to walk away.

"Ron? What's going on over there?" called Molly. Several other members of the Weasley family ran over as well, looking at the young couple in concern. "We're done," said Ron glumly, "My fault don't give her any heat or anything," he mumbled as he headed up the stairs to his room.

"Wouldn't dream of it Ron, I assumed right away it was your fault," said George. Ron stared at George angrily but his expression softened when he saw the concern and sympathy in his eyes. "W-What happened? Are you alright dear?" asked Molly as she hovered over, wrapping Hermione into her arms. Molly stared at the damage done to the wall and clenched her jaw but said nothing.

"Alright everyone, nothing to see here. Let's give them their space," Arthur said a little loudly. Everyone made sounds of agreement and started to disperse, leaving Ron and Hermione alone again. Ron ran towards his room and slammed the door shut, leaving Hermione feeling lost and abandoned in the hallway. The brunette finally let out a tired sigh and walked towards the living room, collapsing into a chair. "Sorry Molly, Arthur...I don't think I can stay here tonight," said Hermione quietly. "Thank you for your hospitality," she added sincerely, tears brimming in her eyes again.

"Of course, you're always welcome here Hermione. You're family to us now," said Arthur reassuringly. "I don't know what's going on between you and Ron but it doesn't change how much we adore you," said Molly Weasley, her face full of sympathy. "Ronald's not the easiest to get along with, maybe this will all just blow over and be okay in the morning?" she asked hopefully. "Young couples get in fights all the time,"

"I don't think so Molly, we've been having trouble for quite some time now," said Hermione sadly, unable to meet the older woman's eyes.

"Where are you going to stay dear? You'll be lonely all by yourself and it's not safe to be on your own," said Molly firmly. "Look what happened to Harry! I absolutely won't allow you to go out there on your own."

"I could stay with Bill and Fleur?" offered Hermione, admitting the wisdom of Molly's words.

"They're staying here too, I hardly think the Shell cottage is a safe place to stay after what had just happened."

Hermione nodded numbly, her brain wasn't working at its usual capacity after what had just happened. She felt like an emotional wreck and desperately wanted to fall asleep and escape from everything for the moment.

"I'm sorry dear, it might be awkward right now but I insist you stay with us," said Molly after a while. "Whatever arrangement you want dear, we are happy to accommodate you however we can,"

"I'd like a room to myself if possible," said Hermione quietly. Sleeping in Ginny's room would only add fuel to fire and Hermione couldn't let herself do anything to hurt Ron any more than she had. Especially not now.

Molly smiled, "I'll talk to George about bunking up with Ron. I figure he needs someone to talk to anyhow and you can use his bedroom for the time being."

"Thank you so much Molly, I really appreciate it," responded Hermione quietly.

* * *

"La. La. La," chirped Alice cheerfully as she paced back and forth. "So, what do you think Harry's going to say when he sees me again? Think he misses me?" asked Alice cheerfully. "I miss him," she added quickly when Mark didn't respond. The blonde lazily spun on her heels, almost losing balance. "Wo-Wo-Woah, ha ha, Come on Mark, I'm bored," snapped Alice. "I'm bored to death over here, Let's turn on a freaking muggle movie or something...or go out and kill some of them."

Mark looked up at Alice annoyed, stress lines apparent on his face. "Will you please shut up? You're driving me mental."

"Driving me _mental_," mocked Alice but she obeyed for the moment.

"This spell takes a lot of concentration, if you make me mess up again I'll torture you," said Mark coldly.

Alice promptly ran over and slapped the back of Mark's head as hard as she could, causing his head to thud against the desk he was sitting at.

Mark glared at Alice and whipped his wand out, _CRUCIO!_

Alice's runes activated and spread across her body and she stuck her tongue out, making a face. Mark glared at her and channeled more of his magical energy through his wand, causing Alice's runes to slowly fade from her skin.

"Shit," muttered Alice as she reached for her wand. "Dammit!" she shouted as the Crucio curse started to take effect, causing her to drop to her knees in pain. "Ow ow ow, okay okay okay stop! Just stop!" she begged, her face contorting in pain. "He He he, ow, okay stop seriously," Alice shouted, thrashing wildly on the floor, desperation starting to creep into her voice. "Mark, I'm sorry! I'll be good! MARK! MARKKKKKK! AHHH, MARK PLEASE STOP. MARK IT HURTS." The blonde thrashed wildly, her body convulsing as Mark mercilessly amped up the strength of the cruciatus curse. When it looked like her back was about to break and her screams became nearly silent he finally stopped the spell and turned back to his desk. "Now go bugger off and find something useful to do," he snarled, turning back to his project.

Alice dry heaved, breathing heavily from the effects of the cruciatus curse. "You're such a jerk,"

"Leave," said Mark threateningly, his silver eyes flashing angrily.

Alice saluted and walked off, kicking the air restlessly. She leapt into the air and spun around, sending her heel arching in the air over her head. As the girl landed, she pivoted on her foot and stretched her body out, throwing a powerful back kick in front of her. "piyin huo ta," she murmured, her eyes lighting up as her kicks now produced powerful flames. "Mark, these Chinese spells you taught me are awesome."

Mark ignored her, his concentration focused on the spell he was preparing.

"I'm so bored," said Alice annoyed at being ignored. She sighed and sat down on the floor cross legged, straightening her back. The blonde teen reached into her robes, searching for a vial.

"I told you to stop taking those," said Mark, not looking up from his work.

"God bless the wizard who invented these...I freaking love magic," she said as she popped a multicolored pill into her mouth.

* * *

Ginny stirred awake, feeling a familiar hand stroking her hair. "Ginny," whispered Harry quietly. Ginny sat up in her chair, realizing she had fallen asleep at Harry's bed side. "Harry...are you okay?" asked Ginny rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "So-Sorry, I just haven't slept much," she admitted.

"How long have I been out?" asked Harry distantly, pulling away from the red head and staring off into the ceiling.

"Oh, a couple of hours now I think...I'm not sure, I just woke up," said Ginny blushing furiously.

"We're in big trouble Ginny," said Harry quietly. "Mark Chang...there's a powerful dark wizard in London and I'm afraid we're not prepared."

Ginny frowned. "I've never heard of a Mark Chang, sounds like an asian bloke though?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, he is...Him and this witch...they stopped the Death Eaters from capturing me and then..." Harry gulped, "They killed them all. All the Death Eaters..."

"So they're on our side then?" asked Ginny confused. "Sounds like he saved you Harry,"

"No, he's definitely evil...the way she killed them Ginny, it was horrible," said Harry frowning deeply. Ginny reached to hold Harry's hand but he pulled away sharply. "Do-Don't touch me Ginny. Nothing's changed, we shouldn't ..."

Ginny pulled her hand back and said nothing, nodding numbly. "I-I didn't ...I'm sorry," apologized Ginny finally, looking lost. "I just wanted to comfort you Harry," she said sincerely, tears once again threatening to leak from her eyes.

Harry felt his heart break when he took a closer look at Ginny's face. It was very obvious that she had been crying a lot ..._Probably was worried sick about me_, thought Harry sadly.

The former couple sat in silence for a few moments before Harry continued, "Anyways, he hinted that there was more of them...dark wizards, they're gathering here for some reason. He said something about recruiting me..."

Ginny frowned, "Recruiting you? There's no way you would go willingly? Oh Harry, they must have something planned if they just let you walk away like this," said Ginny fearfully.

Harry nodded. "Must be, I've been feeling a bit odd for a while now and I've feared...I've feared that it was the influence of the dark arts but I still can't be certain. I might just be going mental,"

"You're not mental," said Ginny sharply. "You aren't that type of person, I know you're not,"

Harry smiled weakly. "Yea, I know Ginny thanks...just, we need to take more precautions...we need to train, get stronger, all of us. We have to call everyone in the D.A. back, more than ever we're going to need capable Aurors on our side. It's time, its our time now to lead the Order of the Phoenix."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thanks for reading**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Ginny lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling and contemplating Harry's words. She had finally tore herself away from Harry's room when he started to drift back off to sleep and had taken a long shower before preparing for bed. Tommorow in the morning, everyone would know Harry's story and she suspected it would cause a great deal of chaos in the Burrow.

The red hair beauty gingerly reached a hand to feel her pulse through the fabric of her night gown and took a deep breath, coaxing her body to relax. Seeing Harry bloodied and unconcious after worrying about him for so long, and sitting at his bedside for hours had emotionally drained the young witch.

She frowned, remembering the way Harry had pulled away from her when she tried to hold his hand and felt a familiar pang of pain in her chest.

_You're not wanted Ginny...stop being a fool..._

_I can't control the way my heart feels_

_Harry doesn't want or need you..._

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the negative thoughts that had constantly been plaguing her since they had recovered Harry. Ginny remembered the panic she felt when she saw the Death Eater struggling to his feet and Harry's kneeling form in the distance.

_We have to get stronger Ginny_

Ginny clenched her jaw. Even if they could not be together romantically, she was resolute to become the most powerful witch she could to protect him. If Harry needed powerful allies, then she would become his champion...maybe then he would finally look at her again.

She thought about their training days in Dumbledore's Army and how proud he had been of her quick learning and the power of her spells. He only had eyes for Cho Chang back then, but Ginny had still flushed like a love struck schoolgirl when Harry had smiled her way.

Ginny saw the conflict in Harry's eyes when they spoke and she suspected that he still loved her. _It is only a matter of time before we can be together again_, she thought uncertainly.

_We have to gather every dependable wizard and witch and go to Hogwarts right away, it's still the safest place in the world against dark wizards, _Harry had said. _Then I'll use Dumbledore's pensieve to share my memories of this morning...everyone has to know what we might be up against. _

Ginny heard wood creaking outside in the hallway and wondered if Harry was sneaking up to talk with Hermione and Ron...he had to be anxious to speak with them after what he had gone through.

She wondered for a moment if Harry had just pretended to fall asleep to get her to leave him, but quickly decided it wasn't anything to get upset over. Ginny's mind flashed back to Hermione's concerned face when she bursted into the burrow to alert her mother about Harry's condition and closed her eyes. _She was just worried about you because you were crying, _said Ginny to herself. _You're reading too much into it... _

Ginny knew wizards and witch's generally didn't care about same-sex relationships but it still wasn't something she had thought out carefully. She had been aghast when Demelza Robins had walked in on her and Katie Bell - right when the former fellow chaser had confessed to her after a particularly exciting Gryffindor victory.

Ginny had been caught up in the excitement and hadn't resisted when the Hogwarts alumni had jumped her in a secluded area of the girl's locker room, pushing her up against the wall with a hungry look in her eyes. Ginny had responded without thinking, she had been terribly forlorn in prior days worrying about the return of Voldemort and the golden trio's safety. Feeling the long lost sensation of a warm tongue seeking entrance into her mouth and the heat of a warm body pressed against hers had unraveled the red head.

It was shocking to discover that her long time fellow chaser had harbored such feelings for her... and she had to admit she had been very flattered at the time. Ginny shuddered, remembering Katie's warmth and the feeling of her soft body pressing firmly against hers. Ginny had to admit that it had been more exhilarating snogging Katie in that moment then it had been snogging any of her previous boyfriends with the exception of Harry.

Ginny pushed away her memories of that day, worried about having inappropriate dreams later that night when she drifted off to sleep. After an embarrassed silence together, Ginny had regretfully told Katie that she was still in love with Harry. She had recently discovered that Katie was seeing a girl by the name of Leanne now and sincerely hoped that they were happy.

Ginny had often used the memory of Katie to relieve her tensions, among other memories but she didn't enjoy feeling indecent all the time. _Blasted hormones,_ thought Ginny as she realized the heat that had developed in her face plus the mild arousal she felt. The young red head involuntarily pictured snogging Hermione in the locker room instead of Katie and blushed furiously. She had to admit, she was a little disappointed to find Hermione opted to sleep in a different room but she considered that maybe it was for the best with the way her mind was currently working.

Lately, if she tried to think of Harry to relieve herself, she'd remember the beating he gave her and become unable to finish, leaving her frustrated. Losing her virginity to him had been painful and devoid of romance, the complete opposite of the way she'd always imagined it'd be... but despite the bad experience, she had forgiven him. Ginny forced her thoughts from Harry, realizing that it was only causing her pain.

_Hermione always sleeps here though, I wonder if everything's okay? _wondered Ginny to herself glancing at the empty bed next to hers. The two girls had always shared a bed when they were younger but after Ginny's fourth year, Molly had duplicated her daughter's bed and expanded her room so Hermione could have her own space.

Ginny wanted to sneak into Hermione's room to see if anything was amiss, after all the brunette had taken such good care of her over the past few weeks and she figured a little girl talk could do them both some good. They hadn't had an opportunity to properly talk to each other since their meeting at George's shop and she was anxious to find out why she wasn't here.

Quietly slipping out of bed, Ginny headed towards the room's exit, determined to talk to her.

Ginny shuffled up the stairs, any potential noises masked by a silencing charm. She was still moving up the stairs as quietly as possible when she noticed the light in Ron's room was on. She pressed her ears against the doorway, listening in for a few moments and realized that Harry and Ron were animatedly talking about something.

"We've got to go to Hogwarts," Harry said.

"I can't believe it," Ron said. "Dark wizards in London again? I'm so bloody sick of it, every bloody year at Hogwarts we nearly die and even after V-Voldemort, I know he's dead Harry don't give me that look. Anyways, even with HIM dead it's still not safe around here, when are we going to get some bloody rest?"

"Erm, why can't we call Hermione in here again?" asked Harry. "It'd be easier if I could just talk to you both at once,"

"Just leave her alone for now mate, had a proper row with her earlier...I think we're finally through," said Ron, sadness and anger saturating his voice.

_So that's why, _thought Ginny in surprise. _She must have wanted to be alone...but, I should be there for her in case she needs me... _Ginny decided that nobody ought to be alone with their thoughts after a breakup of Ron and Hermione's magnitude.

The brunette witch had been in love with her idiot brother for years now - and despite the fact that they always seemed to have difficulties - she never imagined they'd actually end the whole thing.

"You alright mate? I knew something must be wrong right away but I never saw this coming," Harry said apologetically.

The timing of it was particularly odd...She didn't know what to make of the situation. It'd be even harder to push away her fantasies of being with the beautiful brunette, but it was definitely not the proper time to be entertaining such ideas. Ginny groaned mentally, her feelings for Harry conflicting with her interest in experimenting with the fairer sex - particularly Hermione Granger.

_Definitely not the time Ginerva Molly Weasley. It's time to be a good friend, get those naughty thoughts out of your head this instant, _chided Ginny to herself as she made the rest of the climb up to Bill's room. _You're not with Harry now... but you're never going to be with him if you have unfaithful thoughts all the time. _She whispered a variation of _alohomora _that countered Hermione's preferred locking spell and was delighted to find out that it worked.

Hermione was a brilliant witch and must have used the same locking charm they invented together to use on their shared room last year - specifically for the purpose of letting her in if she so desired. The red head peeked in timidly to find out the older witch was soundly asleep, clutching a pillow to her chest. Ginny slowly slipped into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Hermione? Are you alright," she said softly, approaching the bed and kneeling in front of it. Ginny rested her arms against the soft cushion of the mattress and glanced at Hermione's sleeping face. Ginny was surprised to find out that there were still tears streaking down the beautiful girl's face and gently brushed them away, causing the older girl to stir.

Ginny felt her heart beat quicken, realizing that she could no longer control her physical attraction to the older witch. She stared quietly at Hermione's gentle features, feeling highly inappropriate. _This must be what all those creeper pervert's feel like_ thought Ginny partially horrified at her thoughts and feelings. She had been hoping that she wouldn't allow herself to feel more than friendly concern for the sleeping brunette lying before her. Hermione shifted again, hugging her pillow tighter and suddenly sneezed, startling herself awake.

Ginny realized that her lips were very dry, and she smiled weakly as Hermione's sleepy eyes met hers. "Ron? No, Ginny - Hi," said Hermione sleepily. "I'm sorry- I thought you were your brother for a second."

The brunette sat up, wiping her eyes and yawned. Ginny gulped when she noticed that some of the buttons on Hermione's top had come loose, revealing her bare shoulder and part of her cleavage in the dim lighting of the moonlight. _Do you not wear a bra to sleep? You vixen!_ thought Ginny, unable to control her eyes from wandering for a moment.

"H-Hey, I thought I'd check up on you since you weren't in the room and uhm..." _Stop staring Ginny Weasley!_ "Er, I heard what had happened so I was worried about you," finished Ginny quickly. Hermione seemed too tired to notice any discomfort in Ginny's behavior and shuffled over, making room for the younger witch to lay down. She released the pillow she had been holding tightly and placed it next to her head, patting it firmly.

"Come on then, it'll be like old times," said Hermione stifling yet another yawn. Her eyes looked extremely weary and she suddenly glanced over at Ginny questioningly. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing ...yeah...like old times," said Ginny nervously as she slid under the covers. She could immediately feel the heat of Hermione's body at their closeness and placed her hands over her stomach, tilting her head to meet the brunette witch's gaze.

"Thanks Ginny, you're a good friend," said Hermione finally after a few moments of silence. The brunette talked with her eyes closed and Ginny noticed again how the skin around her eyes were swollen from crying. "I - me and Ron - somehow we ended up breaking up, I feel horrid - it's all my fault," she said softly. "He's been such a good friend and boyfriend to me,"

Ginny nodded, taking in Hermione's words and resisted the temptation to hold the older girl in her arms. "You and him - you're both strong, I'm sure everything will be alright,"

"No, I don't think it will be," said Hermione earnestly, shifting away from Ginny. The bed was narrow, being designed for one person and she hadn't much room to move. "I do want to try - to make it up to him - but I know it'd be a lie. I was lying to myself all this time and now that I, him, both of us know the truth... I don't suppose we could ever go back to being together again," said Hermione.

Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand underneath the blankets and squeezed it reassuringly. "I really was happy for you and Ron...I'm really sorry it didn't work out Hermione," said Ginny.

"I'm okay...I'm more worried about him," responded Hermione, opening her eyes to meet Ginny's gaze. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity and Ginny felt an uncomfortable blush starting to spread across her neck and face.

"I thought I was in love with Ron for so long...and I think that I really did fancy him. I was so jealous when Lavender was dating him - you know that, we've talked about it heaps of times," said Hermione finally, breaking the silence. "When we finally kissed during the last battle with Voldemort at Hogwarts...I was so happy Ginny... but whenever we tried to take things further than just kissing I- I freaked out! It felt so wrong when he would try to touch me places and - I lead him on and now I've broken his heart,"

Ginny nodded, squeezing Hermione's hand again. "It's okay Hermione, just take some time to sort it out. Ron can be a moody prat but he's one of us Weasley's and a true Gryffindor as well. I'm sure that if he really does love you, he'll forgive you and wants you to be happy," said Ginny earnestly, attempting to read what Ron might be currently feeling. "Might need some time though," she added as she put herself in Ron's shoes.

Hermione nodded and sighed. "I doubt we'll have much time to be away from each other with how things are but it can't be helped," said Hermione. "I don't like this but...I'm leaving tommorow - Me and Ron, we both need our space for the time being,"

"No! Hermione, you can't leave its dangerous out there!" said Ginny remembering what Harry had told her. "Harry has a plan, to gather all of our old friends from Hogwarts together to form the next chapter of the Order - he wants to share his memories in the pensieve at McGonnagalls' office so we have an idea of what we're up against. We're going to need you more than ever Hermione,"

Hermione shook her head. "I can meet you guys at Hogwarts perhaps, but I can't stay here Ginny. Don't worry, I'll take every precaution - I'll be safe,"

Ginny's lips trembled and she finally gave up on resisting her impulses. Hermione found her face buried in Ginny's chest as she crushed the older, slightly smaller girl against her body. "Ginny!" cried Hermione' her voice muffled from the fabric of Ginny's night gown. Ginny felt Hermione's hot breath traveling through the thin material of her nightgown causing her nipples to harden and tried her hardest to prevent a moan of pleasure from escaping her throat.

"Don't go," managed Ginny finally, her voice shakey at the accidental intimacy that had just occured. "I thought I'd lost Harry, I don't want to lose you."

"Really, you don't need to be so concerned about me!" said Hermione as she pulled her face back from Ginny's chest - her cheeks and ears crimson. Hermione bit her lip involuntarily as she realized the proximity of their lips, struggling to bury the dark desire that Ginny was provoking in her.

Ginny found herself in disbelief of how sexy Hermione was when she bit her lips the way she just had, and felt a sudden wave of sympathy for Ron. She had often heard him complain about Hermione's prudishness and she realized that if it was her - she'd probably have gone completely mental by now.

Ginny slowly relaxed her grip on Hermione and managed a weak smile. _She's so beautiful...what were we talking about? _Ginny's eyes lit up slightly as she remembered. "Let me come with you then, Harry has loads to organize and it'll be easier to take care of things here with mum and dad's help. I'll keep you company and make sure you're safe for the time being, and we'll both meet everyone at Hogwarts in a few days. It's brilliant!"

"I don't know Ginny, it might not be such a good idea," said Hermione finally, hesitation showing in her voice. "Ron might not like it if we go off together,"

"Why would Ron care? I've been your best female friend for years and years now. I am a pretty talented duelist if I do say so myself, it's much better that we travel together than you traveling on your own." asked Ginny, genuinely puzzled by Hermione's reluctance.

Hermione shook her head and said nothing. "Nevermind, maybe we should," she said finally. "I just need to get away from here,"

"Is everything okay?" asked Ginny in concern.

"Yeah, I'd love to have you with me honestly," said Hermione, looking up at Ginny shyly. "I'll feel much safer,"

Ginny beamed at her and finally released her hold on the flustered brunette. "Okay, it's settled then. I think we should stick around for breakfast with everyone first ...but right after that we can get going,"

Hermione nodded and closed her eyes wearily. "Okay Gin - sorry but I am so exhausted. I think I'll get back to bed,"

"O-Of course," said Ginny, hastily slipping off the bed. "Sure you don't wanna come back with me to my room?" she asked hopefully.

"I can't be bothered to move," replied Hermione sleepily. "I'll see you in the morning Ginny,"

Ginny grinned and left the room, casting Hermione's version of the lock charm on the door before heading back downstairs. Spending a few minutes with Hermione had cheered her up considerably. Being with the older witch distracted her from the angst she felt inside when she was in Harry's company.

She almost second guessed her commitment to Harry, finding it hard to control her feelings when Hermione was so deliciously tempting and made her so happy. Ginny realized that even if Hermione miraculously was interested in her that way, Ron's feelings would substantially complicate everything. If Hermione was completely heterosexual, then it'd be wrong to push the boundaries of their friendship in the way Ginny had been tempted to during the past few weeks.

_Merlin's beard Ginny, she was your brother's girlfriend just yesterday and you've had the hots for her for how long? _Ginny felt mildly disgusted at herself but couldn't control the happiness bubbling inside whenever she thought of the intimate moment she had just shared with the lovely brunette.

Ginny cast a silence charm on her feet as she passed Ron's room. The two friends were apparently still discussing something as the light remained on but Ginny didn't want to deal with them at the moment. The redhead girl slipped back into her room and jumped into her bed, grabbing a handful of blanket and hugging it tightly to her chest. She couldn't stop the sinking weight of her conciousness berating her for her impure actions and motives.

_You're so disgusting_ she thought to herself, frowning at he unfavorable situation she found herself in. She was still in love with Harry and it wouldn't be right to go after Hermione when her heart was divided the way it was. _She deserves better,_ realized Ginny with resounding clarity. _He deserves better..._

Suddenly, all of her happiness disappeared, leaving the young red head completely hollow. _I'm not fit to love anyone, not even Harry, _she thought, misery pouring like sand over her heart. _I'm an indecisive, unfaithful, monster of a girl chasing him and then chasing her..._

Ginny grit her teeth in frustration, feeling as if she were about to explode. Ginny reflected on herself... she had been self confident and assertive ever since her second year at Hogwarts but when it came to love, she found her usual self confidence waning. It wasn't that she didn't believe in her charms or good looks, finding interested people had always been incredibly easy for her.

Every year, she had grown brighter and more beautiful...Her popularity among the boys was unquestionable and she had fans and admirer's throughout Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Harry had finally fallen to her charms after the fall of Voldemort but despite her best efforts, she had failed in keeping him ...and now she was allowing herself to fall hard for her brother's ex-girlfriend hours after they had seperated.

Now that Hermione was actually available. the temptation to do something inappropriate to the beautiful witch had tantalized her mercilessly. She had always restrained a great deal of her admiration and attraction for Hermione - but now that there was less reason to, she found herself unable to hold back her desire.

_Bloody Hormones, _groaned Ginny, holding her face in frustration. She prayed for merciful sleep to overcome her before she went completely mental, and after realizing she didn't need to pray for such a thing, grabbed her wand and aimed it at her chest.

_Insomni Countero_

* * *

John Castien grimaced as his enchanted ethereal eye caught sight of the three mages sitting around a round table in a dimly lit room."Shite, we're in way over our heads Britney," he said in alarm as one of mages caught sight of the ethereal eye zipping past the entrance. "They've already started to track me from the magic signature - they'll be here any minute,"

Britney Alastein cursed and drew her wand. "Any chance we can take them?"

"No, I'm not sure we'll be able to even get away...well, only one of them is coming, they disenchanted my eye," responded John as he backed away, turning to run as fast as he could. Britney kept up with him easily, being the more physically fit of the two. She jumped after John and crouched, leaning against his shoulder as he paused to enchant the statues around them. "I can make the statues here fight for us but its not going to hold them off for very long," he said. "You should probably place some traps too, if we are going down... we could maybe take one of them with us,"

Britney instantly started to stack various spells on the tiles in the room. "Okay, don't step on any of the black tiles or you're toast," she warned once she had finished. The couple continued to run, stepping over the many black tiles in the room and made it to the next hallway when Britney caught a glimpse of a hooded figure advancing towards them. The statues around the hooded figure came to life and the hooded man jumped back, dodging the blades of the statues as they swung furiously at him.

"It's Casteran Thompson," said John quickly, meeting Britney's eye. "Casteran, Cassandra Malicen and Mark Chang were in that room. There are a total of seven chairs in that room each engraved with a different house sigil. There must be more of them coming to London,"

Britney stared at her Auror partner wide eyed. "You're kidding me? What do we do John? We have to get out of here. We'd be lucky to defeat one of them two on one... but those three in the same place? What the hell is going on?"

Casteran had blasted the statues into rubble and was slowly advancing towards them, his right foot headed straight for a black tile. Britney held her breath as he triggered the Auror's trap. Suddenly, spikes from all of the black tiles in the room shot out towards the dark wizard's location but he quickly pointed his wand at the floor and launched himself twenty meters in the air. The spikes narrowly missed impaling the airborne wizard and he skillfully weaved his way through the labyrinth of spikes that protruded from the floor of the room.

"Merde, he's gaining on us,' shouted the blonde witch as they started to run again. Britney sprinted through the next doorway and quickly took cover behind the wall, waiting for her partner to catch up. The female Auror cast a bubble charm in front of the door as her dark haired partner ran through it. The bubble immediately wrapped around the man, forming a protective shield as several powerful jinxes bounced off of them. The bubble dissapeared just as the man cleared the door and took cover on the other side of the doorway, clutching his wand tightly and staring at the woman across from him fearfully.

"He's too strong," he said, meeting the blonde witch's gaze. "You gotta escape Brita, warn Shaklebolt and the others...you have to live."

Britney Alastein grimaced and tried to apparate but nothing happened.

"I can't apparate John, what do we do?"

"We have to send a message to Shaklebolt," said John quickly, panic creeping into his voice. "EXPECTO - PATRONUM. Cassandra Malicen, Mark Chang, and Casteran Thompson...three out of seven," he said urgently as the spectral humming bird zipped off in a blaze of silver. He grit his teeth and pointed his wand shakily at his long term hunting partner. "We have to do this at the same time Bri, or they'll capture one of us."

"No John ...I couldn't," said Britney, eyes wide with fear.

"Please, we don't have much time. We can't let them torture us for information. You're an Auror like me, we have to do this. It's been an honor working with you," said John.

Mary smiled through the tears that were building in her eyes. "You're right...Good Bye John."

John chuckled, his eyes shining with emotion. "Meet me for some drinks on the other side?"

Britney nodded, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks.

John smiled sadly and raised his other hand, slowly lifting his fingers one by one. When he reached three, the two Aurors straightened their wands at each other and shouted the incantation in unison.

"Avada Kedevra!"

* * *

AN: R&R if you enjoyed. Story is now rated M


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I think I write differently when I'm sick, sorry if its not tip top but here's the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 7

A flash of red hair in the dark caught Harry's eyes.

There she was, Ginny Weasley with her wand drawn, limping along favoring her right leg. She tripped and caught herself by falling against the brick wall next to her.

She was hurt – her brown eyes devoid of light and blood freely streamed down her freckled cheeks from a gash on her forehead. Her body was weak – she was injured - anybody could tell by the way she was moving.

The young red head's legs were shaking uncontrollably as slowly made her way, leaning against the wall for support. Harry reached his hands towards her but she didn't see him. Didn't feel him as his hands passed through her body - just like all the other dreams he couldn't help or warn her of what was to come.

The red haired witch was so tantalizingly beautiful, even as blood trickled down her luscious puffy lips, trickling onto the sleeve of her robes. The girl was wearing her Hogwarts uniform - a long-sleeved dress shirt with the standard red and gold tie, a knee length blue skirt and black robes.

Harry stared hopelessly as panic registered in her breathtaking features. She coughed, causing more blood to splat against the cement and spun around, pointing her wand into the darkness. Her hand quivered as the young witch's wand lit up, illuminating a dark figure.

There he was, it was like looking into a mirror except he looked completely mad. Harry's doppelganger stepped into the light of Ginny's wand with blood splattered all over his face and clothes. "Ginny, where do you think you're running to?" he said…or the other him said anyways. "You're not going anywhere," he said with a tut.

Evil Harry's voice was distorted, like his throat was shriveled and a good bit deeper than normal. He looked a little older, shaggy dark hair flowing down to his shoulders, long bangs partially covering his eyes.

"Avada Kedevra," said Ginny quickly– training her wand on Harry.

The evil version of Harry couldn't help smirking as he blocked the spell with a flick of his wand. "You've got to try harder than that love," Harry stood in between himself and Ginny but he knew from previous attempts that it was useless.

The dreamer turned to look at his ex-girlfriend's last moments.

"Harry, don't do this you can still change!" cried Ginny desperately. Even to the bitter end she was trying to help him.

Ginny's eyes were filled with pain and her vision must have been blurred by her tears but Harry had to admit she was a brave witch.

She lunged to her right, dodging one of Harry's spells and flicked her wrist upwards. She destroyed the balcony hanging over Harry's head with a powerful reducto explosion but the wizard turned the chunks of falling cement into sand with a flick of his wand.

The red head desperately cast spell after spell in quick succession but Harry avoided, blocked and countered them as needed, slowly advancing towards the red haired beauty. Evil Harry's eyes flashed as he leveled his wand at Ginny.

"Expelliarmus," he said casually. The blast of magic from his wand not only knocked the wand from the girl's hand but threw her entire body backwards. Ginny got thrown back into the brick wall behind her, bones crunching audibly as she crumpled to the ground.

Ginny's knees hit the ground, robes still flapping wildly in the wind from her backwards momentum and she started to fall. Her hair looked like the tail of a comet as she fell on her side, pooling around her face on the cold concrete as convulsions shook the girl's athletic body.

The girl's body was suddenly lifted from the ground, powerful magic levitating the girl against the wall and Harry playfully wrenched the girl's body in random directions laughing maniacally.  
Ginny screamed in pain as Harry's magic ripped open all of her wounds at once, blood soaking through her clothes and pooling rapidly on the ground below her.

"Stop!" screamed Harry but his doppelganger continued to torment the young witch, painfully twisting her body with his powerful magic. "Hermione!" she screamed as her right arm dislocated from it's shoulder joint.

The boy's eyes snapped open, breathing heavy and sweat dripping from his forehead. The dreams were vivid - almost like looking into the pensieve and the pain he felt when he saw himself tormenting Ginny - it was real.

Harry threw off his blankets with a frustrated cry of anguish, hands clenched and teeth grit. Weeks of this had gone by, and he had avoided sleep like the plague but no matter what, it would eventually catch up to him and torment him.

There has to be a spell that allows me to never sleep, thought Harry.

He knew for a certainty now that these dreams were not coincidence and he wondered if it was even safe for him to be in the Burrow.

"I can teach you how to be more powerful than you have ever imagined. There will be a time when you come to me of your own free will," Mark's voice said. Harry wondered if it was true, he was desperate to make it stop.

_"I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harry. You're not a bad person. You're a very good person, who bad things have happened to,"_ said Sirius' voice in his head.

Harry's brow creased as he remembered his god father's last words to him. "Besides, the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. _We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are,"_

Harry never missed his god father more than now, he wished Sirius was here - right now - to talk to him, to comfort him. His words were the only thing keeping him from going insane and Harry repeated them in his head several more times before his breathing started to return to normal._ I'm a good person..I'll never do those horrible things_, thought Harry.

Merlin, I've got to talk to someone about these dreams, he thought, frustration forming a knot in his chest. There was a small part of him that was starting to find a dark thrill in having these sorts of dreams, and it terrified Harry.

Harry Potter was no seer, but he was afraid that these visions might be predictions of the future. There were subtle hints, such as how everyone seemed slightly older in them, the increase in the length of his hair...Harry wondered for a moment if it would change anything if he shaved himself bald.

There were other small details that stuck out in Harry's mind such as strange jewlery worn by Ginny, the phoenix tattoo on Ron and Hermione's forearm, and the strange book Hermione was carrying when he murdered her.

Hermione, Ron, Ginny...Harry glanced at the sunlight streaming into the room. The light illuminated a poster of two dragons feriously locked in combat and Harry watched the two dragons duel it out for several moments, thankful for a distraction. Harry missed the days when he would have normal dreams, dreams he wouldn't remember when he awoke. The effects of the dreams were slowly becoming more noticeable as bursts of anger and dark thoughts started to saturate his waking mind.

Seeing Ginny again only made things worse, he would remember vividly his mistakes and how he had hurt her. The dreams only worsened his state of mind when she was near, he could remember all too clearly how he tortured the poor girl in his dreams. He thought, believed for a moment that after some time alone, he would be ready to start again with Ginny but that was clearly not the case.

_It's too dangerous to let myself get too close to her again_, decided Harry as he headed towards Charlie's old bathroom. Not until I figure out what the hell is wrong with me. Harry sighed as he watched his feet shuffle towards his destination.

There was nothing more that he wanted than to hold the young red head in his arms, rest his weary head on her shoulder and love her purely, with all his heart, for the rest of his life. He entertained ideas of marriage, having a family and letting himself feel Ginny's radiant adoration but they were fleeting.

Miniature dragon models leapt around in the small bathroom and Harry dodged past them towards the sink, turning the faucet on. The young man washed his face and stared at his reflection in the mirror. All too easily he could see himself with longer hair, madness in his eyes and that wicked grin on his face.

A small toy dragon landed on his shoulder and blew a wisp of warm flame towards his cheek, distracting him from his thoughts. The young wizard shook his head and buried his face in what he hoped was a clean towel, resolute to head downstairs and share what he knew with the rest of the Burrow.

Harry decided that he should at least tell Hermione and Ron about the dreams, Hermione especially would be knowledgeable about the subject and hopefully come up with some solutions.

* * *

"How did your mission go?" asked Cassandra Malicen, raising a glass of wine to her cold blue lips. The raven haired witch sat elegantly on a black chair decorated with human bones, her face partially covered by a white opera mask. She made strange suction noises as she greedily chugged the red substance in her wine glass, slamming the glass down and wiping her mouth messily with a hiss.

"Success as usual," said Casteran Thompson lazily, licking his hand and slicking his dirty blonde bangs so they didn't cover his eyes. "Mark's invention is something else. I never thought these kinds of operations could go so smoothly," he said taking a seat.

A wine bottle magically levitated and began pouring for the dark wizard as he reclined in his seat, enjoying the feeling of his over sized leather office chair. The man was in his forty's at least, rough stubble on his chin and a muggle cigarette between his teeth. Casteran Thompson's eyes were ice blue with the beginning signs of age showing at the creases, his athletic body covered by smart business attire. "Not the method I would choose though, capture and torture is much more efficient."

"No, we won't be able to have the desired results if we force anything. We have to be patient in order for the madness to settle in properly. If he resists too much, or learns how to counter it too early - it will be difficult to control him." said Mark. "Anyways, the boy did defeat Tom – one of the most powerful dark wizards of our age, let's just stick to the plan and proceed with caution...regardless of how time consuming it is."

"Tom was powerful, yes, but foolish. I won't make the same mistakes as him," said Cassandra. "There is powerful old magic protecting that kid, the effects of my spell are being diluted by it. It has been very bothersome to get this far…You remember how fast you turned, don't you Mark?"

Mark glanced at Cassandra and shrugged. "I was already headed down this path before your help Cassandra."

Cassandra laughed musically, flashing her fanged teeth and smiling wildly. "Oh Mark, you were so darling. I could have just eaten you up," she licked her lips and poured herself more red liquid. "Auror blood is delicious, wouldn't you say Caster?"

Casteran took a sip of his drink and grimaced. "It just takes like normal blood to me," he admitted. "I'm not a connoisseur of this stuff like you are Cass."

"Either way, if the prophecy is true than Harry will come over to our side. It is inevitable," said Cassandra as blood dribbled down her pale chin.

"If things don't go according to plan, he will become a dangerous enemy," warned Mark as he folded his arms. The Asian wizard's hair was tied back in a top knot and long black wisps of hair fell over his silver eyes. "I'll be honest, I am very interested in training the kid...he reminds me of myself when I was around that age,"

Mark Chang sat cross legged on a marble throne, saturated by Ravenclaw engravings and decorum. Alice was perched next to him on the arm rest, eyes lit up with excitement as the three dark wizards discussed Harry Potter.

"Nothing is certain...but he is just a boy. We will kill him if becomes necessary," said Cassandra confidently. "Even if we don't kill him, he won't be able to stop us. It's nothing to be concerned about,"

"Rin's predictions are usually very dependable, I would remain cautious if I were you," grunted Casteran, finishing his glass. "We must bring Harry to our side in order to be victorious - let's not make the same mistake as Voldemort did and underestimate him,"

"When is Rin due to arrive here anyways?" asked Mark curiously. "I'm dying to meet her,"

"Rin hasn't been in touch, seems she's having a bit of trouble with the aurors in her home country," said Cassandra nonchalantly. "Nothing she can't handle I'm sure, she will be among us soon."

"Well, here is your - what do you call it? Magnificent invention," said Casteran as he tossed Mark a black briefcase.

"It was inspired by muggle technology. You'll be amazed at what we can learn from the muggles," said Mark, catching the black bag and handing it to Alice.

"Muggles," spat Cassandra. "I can't wait to start slaughtering the filthy things. How is Lucius and the boy doing?"

"The boy Draco is alive. It seems Lucius arrived just in time to pull him out unseen. You should have seen his face, he was livid," said Mark smiling. "Don't worry, I won't cause any more trouble," he added when Cassandra shot a nasty glare at him.

"How about the auror activity nearby?" continued Cassandra, finishing her glass and pushing it away from her.

Casteran shrugged. "I disposed of the bodies so I assume they think they're missing still. Pity though, I wanted to know more about their numbers and operations. We should make it priority to capture a few aurors alive,"

Cassandra nodded in agreement and took another sip of her drink, glancing around at the four empty chairs in the room. "We must be patient, the time to strike is soon upon us but we must move carefully. Do not underestimate the witches and wizards of London, they are the oldest among our kind and we must be prepared when we take them on. Mark, have you finished your assignment?"

Mark grinned, tossing a pair of necklaces on the table. "Two time-stoppers as you requested. They won't work anywhere near me though. I don't trust you two that much."

"Good, preparations are going quite nicely," said Cassandra as she leaned forward to grab one. The woman stood to leave, her long cloak flapping as she disapparated from the room.

* * *

Ginny bit into her toast as Harry reiterated the many things he had told her the night before. Everyone at the Burrow was gathered around the living room table, eating breakfast and discussing future prospects.

"Hogwarts should be safe, but I think Grimmauld place is still the most suitable to use as a base of operations," said Molly with bit of hesitation in her voice. "I won't say I feel comfortable about you being at Hogwarts when you've been exposed to so many dangers there over the past seven years,"

"Yes, Grimmauld's place again…that's brilliant but for now we need to use McGonagall's pensieve and gather as many people as we can trust," said Harry animatedly. "It's the original home of the D.A, I think the room of requirement will still be the ideal place to practice and train. I've already owled a few of our old friends and I figure they'll come around,"

"How about we ask the old bird if we could borrow her pensieve? We could always transport it to Grimmauld Place… which we know is safe," proposed George between bites of muffin.

"Well, that's not a bad idea but for training purposes, Grimmaulds Place is well, not very accommodating," said Harry after some hesitation.

"We're wizards and witches, Harry. I'm sure that between the lot of us, we can come up with a suitable solution," said Bill smiling kindly.

"I'll help in any way I can Harry," added Fleur, smiling sincerely. Harry nodded appreciatively towards the french beauty.

"Troubling times," said Arthur, shaking his head. "You can count on my full support, I am proud of you boy. Taking initiate, reviving the order – it's all very commendable,"

"Er, thank you sir," said Harry as he finally took a bite of his own food.

Ginny noticed that the dark haired wizard was actively avoiding eye contact with her and scowled, poking at her eggs. It was frustrating the way Harry was behaving around her. Ron kept quiet for most of breakfast, eating silently and shooting glances at Hermione occasionally.

The brunette witch also ate quietly, but her face was contorted in the way that it got when she was pondering an exam question or studying something interesting.

"I'm proud of you too Harry, I'm so glad you're safe," said Hermione. "I have some ideas, now that you mention gathering the Order together. I've been doing research ever since you went missing - you see."

"Thanks Hermione, I sure am glad you're around," said Harry earnestly, shooting her a winning smile. Hermione smiled back and folded her arms over her chest, leaning back against her chair. "I have loads to talk to you about… but I guess it can wait until later. Send me an owl so I know when to meet you at Hogwarts will you?"

"Yeah, of course I will," said Harry. "Er, are you going somewhere? I thought you were going to stay here with us for now."

Hermione shook her head and pushed her chair back, getting ready to leave. "Thank you Arthur, Molly, everyone… for your hospitality. I've decided last night that I need some time away, so I'll be leaving shortly," she said.

"But dear, remember what we talked about last night?" asked Molly worriedly.

"Ginny offered to come with me, we'll be at my flat. I'll feel safer with her around," responded Hermione smiling weakly. "If that's okay with you Molly?"

Ron started coughing and Harry leaned over to pat his friend's back. "You okay mate?" he asked.

Molly nodded. "Yes, but do be careful. Owl me straight away if anything comes up,"

Ron chased after Hermione as she started to leave, grabbing her arm gently. Hermione turned around quickly, staring into Ron's eyes in surprise. "What is it Ron?"

"Er, nothing. I just wanted to say - you know, to be safe and stuff," said Ron awkwardly.

Hermione giggled and covered her mouth. "I'll be safe Ron,"

"I just wanted you to know that, I don't mind that Ginny's going with you. In fact, I feel safer knowing she'll be with you," continued Ron quietly. "I've been thinking a lot about last night you know, I do want you back but I realize it might not work out. Still, I'll be waiting in the hopes that you do come around one day,"

Hermione tore her eyes away from Ron, starting to feel guilty. "Thanks Ron, you're great...and I don't know... I'll see you at Hogwarts okay?"

Ron nodded as she turned to go and returned to the table looking dejected. George threw an arm around him and must have cracked a joke because Ron broke out into a helpless grin.

Ginny stuffed the last bit of her toast into her mouth and glanced backwards. Hermione had gone upstairs to pack her things and she would be ready to leave soon. "Mum, I'm going to go pack too. Thanks for breakfast, it was fantastic as usual," she complimented as she started to stand.

Ginny's eyes met Harry's and she froze for a moment. Harry was staring at her the way a predator stares down its prey before lunging and she jumped, noticing the strange serpentine dilation in Harry's eyes. "A-Are you okay Harry?" she asked, alarm creeping into her voice. She noticed that the room had gone quiet and realized that everybody was staring at her.

"What?" asked Harry, seeming surprised. Suddenly, the boy's eyes were back to normal. "Yea, I'm fine thanks," he said quickly, looking away from her again.

Ginny frowned, unsure of what to make of what had just happened. It didn't seem like anyone else had noticed. "O-Okay, I-I'm gonna go then, see you lot later," she said shakily as she headed up the stairs. _Was it just my imagination? _wondered Ginny frowning.

She entered her room and flicked her wand, instantly packing up several changes of clothes and toiletries into her enchanted travel bag. The red haired girl couldn't get the image of Harry with snake eyes out of her head.

_Bizzare, _thought Ginny as she finished packing. _I must have just imagined it... There's no way something like that could happen...but Harry has been missing for a while now...something could have happened. He's been acting like himself though hasn't he? _

The red haired chaser paced around her room, her heart still beating quickly. She groaned and sat on the bed, _I know what I saw...his eyes weren't normal. _Ginny considered confronting Harry now, and bit her lower lip. _No, I might have imagined it after all. I've been under so much stress worrying about him. Everyone was there, they'd have seen it too. _

Ginny mindlessly packed her belongings into her back pack. Hermione had helped charm the bag and it could now contain countless objects, which was very convenient for traveling purposes. She slung the bag around her shoulder and headed down the stairs to meet Hermione.

"Hey Gin, all ready?" Hermione asked, hopping on one foot to adjust her shoes as she headed towards the front door. She still seemed a bit worn out but it seemed a good night's rest had done her some good. "You've never been to my place have you? Just meet me at the Leaky Cauldron and I'll show you from there,"

"Oh, okay. See you there then," said Ginny timidly as she watched the older witch give her a warm smile before disapparating away. Ginny took a deep breath and pictured the Leaky Cauldron in her mind before dissaparating.

* * *

AN: Next update might be a while, I'll be revising and filling in places that are lacking in description or dialogue - This chapter is a bit shorter than the others T_T. Until next time :)


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